The Hero of Time (Completed)
by lemony.club
Summary: He was supposed to be the hero of time. That was his predefined destiny, encoded into the world since its inception. Sadly, such a world is not always black and white, and he isn't as selfless as others has expected of him. Sometimes, a hero and a villain are just two sides of the same coin, and with a simple toss, which side would land face up? NarutoxZelda
1. Prologue

**The Hero of Time** (NarutoxZelda)

**Disclaimer: **This story is fiction. All the characters, names and places belong to their respective owners.

"Talking" – 'Thoughts' – **Monstrous **– {Written} – [Mindscape] – (Scenario) – **_Important _**_– _***Actions***

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**=[Prologue]=**

"Navi… Navi, where are you? Come here for a minute will you? I have an important matter to discuss with you," The great tree requested as it felt something crawling within its body. As called, a small fairy came forth from the murky tree lines and drifted in front of the guardian of the forest.

"I am here," Navi greeted. "What is it, Great One?"

The fairy waited patiently as the large tree looked around before focusing on the small white orb. "Oh, there you are. I thought my eyes were playing trick on me. Ahem. Navi the fairy… Listen to my words, the words of the Great Deku Tree…"

The sentient tree then mumbled as Navi floated closer to make out the muffled words.

"Where was I? Oh, do you sense it too? The climate of evil descending upon this realm… Malevolent forces are mustering to attack our land of Hyrule… For so long, the Kokiri Forest, the source of life, has stood as a barrier, deterring outsiders and maintaining the order of the world. But… before this tremendous evil power, even my power is nothing. It seems the time has come for the boy without a fairy to begin his journey. The youth, whose destiny is to lead Hyrule to… ugh…"

"Great One…?" Navi asked when noticed the distress expression of the great tree.

"It's… nothing," Deku responded. "Your task is to go and find the boy without a fairy as he might be your future partner. You must not fail in bringing him here. His name is… was it Link? Go now!"

**XxXxX**

"Hello, Link!" Navi called out as she hovered in a circular path above the sleeping form of a child. "Hey! Wake up!"

The blond-haired boy groaned and blinked wearily at something shiny orbiting above before yawning and snoozing. As he closed his eyes and entered the dream world again, strange visions began to plague his mind; a soothing dream and a dreadful nightmare. The two were constantly shifting back and forth between as if they were coinciding events. Within the darker one, he saw a wounded young woman running through the emptied hallway while a man cladded in black with sword in hand approaching her slowly from behind. The boy wanted to help the most beautiful girl he had ever seen, but the vision became hazy and faded away when he tried to render aid.

"Link! Wake up! C'mon! The Great Deku Tree wants to speak to you! It's urgent," Navi called out again, but to no avail. Her words fell on deaf ears. In another effort, she flew around the room and rammed the boy as hard as she could, but he simply groaned in annoyance. He batted her away like a pest before continuing replaying those same visions.

Navi sighed and stared down the sleeping form of the child once more. "Can the future of Hyrule really depend on such lazy boy?"

The only answer came was the boy thrashing about in his sleep.

"Link! Hey! The Great Deku Tree has told me to be your partner, aren't you excited?" Navi asked once she moved closer to the boy's ear, but the boy did not reply. She fumed and pounced on his body repeatedly. "Hurry and get up already, stop being lazy!"

"He is not lazy, you just use the wrong name to wake him up," remarked a shadowy orb with flickering tendrils and a pair of crimson red eyes. It drifted into the room from the opened window above the bed and stopped on top of the boy, matching the elevation evenly with the white fairy.

Navi froze up as she saw the strange dark creature without any visible wings. How it was able to fly without the necessary appendages baffled her. "W-who are you?"

"I am the great Kurama. Unlike you, fairy of the light, I am a fairy of the dark. Nice to meet you," the black orb introduced before spiraling toward the sleeping boy. "Hey, Naruto. Wake up sleepy head, your destiny has arrives. It's time to begin your conquest… I mean your adventures across all of Hyrule."

When the correct name reached his ears, Naruto rubbed his eyes tiredly and groaned. He pulled himself up with great effort and blinked at the two other intruders in his small room. With his vision still hazy, he was about to speak up, but the white fairy did before he could.

"What was that!?" Navi shouted in shock once she caught the word from the shadow orb. "Did you just say conquest?"

"No, you must have heard things," Kurama replied calmly while Navi stared at him suspiciously. "Why are you staring at me? You've never seen a shadow fairy before?"

"No, I never have," Navi answered truthfully. "Who sends you here?"

"Hmmm… who else would send me here?" Kurama answered with a question. He then hovered around Navi for a quick examination. "It is the same one as yours."

"But why would the Great Deku Tree send two of us for one boy?" Navi asked with confusion. There was only one entity who could command the fairies within the forest, and Kurama had said he was a fairy.

"The Great One is growing old and senile. He must have called for me after completely forgotten about you. You don't seem to make a good impression, so it's understandable," Kurama answered calmly. Navi saddened that she was forgotten so quickly.

Kurama continued. "Someone else should take over after he is gone or the forest around here will decay before the season is over. I would have nominated myself for the task, but I rather accompany a ten year old boy on a treacherous journey instead. Think about it. Who in their right mind would send such a child on an absurd journey with many things trying to kill him at every turn?"

Navi shook with surprise. She also pondered if the Great One was growing senile. "Wait, even that the case, how do you know he would go on a journey? The Great Deku Tree didn't tell me that part. He only requested me to bring the boy to him."

"Is that so? Well, he told me more because I'm of higher rank than you," Kurama said as it levitated above Navi and looked down at her. "And I'm more powerful too."

"But… but there's no ranking among us, at least nobody told me about it," Navi called out as Kurama snickered. She then pounced around in the air after noticing his expression. "You're making fun of me aren't you!?"

"When did you figure that out?" Kurama questioned amusingly while Navi fumed.

The shadowy orb ignored her and drifted toward the only bed in the room. Once it hovered in front of the seated blond, it spoke up. "Well, you look rather dashing in green instead of orange, Naruto. It just weird seeing you at such an age again, but I can manage somehow."

"Huh? Do you know me?" Naruto asked.

"Yes, we are best of friends, you and I," Kurama answered and did one revolution around the boy. "I've been busy or I would come for you sooner. I'm here now, so it's time to go."

"Go?" Naruto questioned, looking at Navi. "Where to?"

Kurama stared at Navi as well before turning back to the blond-haired child. "To go on an adventure, to see the vast world, to do the things you always wanted. Aren't you tired of all those idiots in this stupid forest calling you names just because you don't have your own guardian fairy? No need to worry, I can be your guardian fairy. Come, it's time to leave this place behind and embark on a grand adventure of a lifetime."

"A grand adventure?" Naruto asked, blinking. He always wanted to see the world beyond the forest, but the Great Deku Tree had told him it was dangerous to go alone. "You're my guardian fairy? I'll no longer be called the boy without a fairy?"

"Yes," Kurama answered to all the questions. "And I can teach you things you never thought of in your wildest dream. I can show you place that no one can ever hope to reach. So shall we get out of here?"

"Wow, really? Yes, let's go. I hate this place," Naruto called out excited as he packed his things. As an inhabitant of the forest, he didn't have much personal effect so it didn't take him more than a minute to gather all the things he had. Navi was speechless that this was the boy the Great One requested for an important task.

"Wait just a minute! You can't leave the forest!" Navi called out as the two were leaving the tree house on an adventure. Bring him back was her first task, and she could not fail. "And even if you could leave, the Great Deku Tree has an important task for you. You must go there first."

The ten-year-old blond-haired child in green tunic and cap stared at the white fairy. He then pointed at it and asked the shadowy orb with tendrils on his side. "Do I have to listen to her? Umm…"

"No, and you can call me Kurama," Kurama answered dryly. "She's just a fairy without a partner. We could detour to see the Great One, but it would be a waste of time. Instead, I suggest we leave this place quickly and burn down Hyrule… I mean explore Hyrule."

"That's not true!" Navi called out while swaying around in the air. "I just haven't found a child that is compatible with me yet, but I will find a one soon!"

"Is that true?" Naruto asked as Kurama snorted.

"I doubt that is the case. It's more likely she's a loner, and nobody wants her," Kurama jabbed. Naruto stared up at the shadowy orb then the light orb before frowning.

"So she's just like me then?" Naruto questioned as Kurama swirled around him. "I feel I should listen to her and go see the old man, Kurama."

"Is that what you truly wanted?" Kurama asked when it stopped hovering around. "Before you answer, tell me what has the Great One done for you? Ten years since you were born, yet you have no guardian fairy. What was his excuse? Was it because there are no fairies available, but then how do you explain her?"

Naruto looked at the timbered floor of his room. He rubbed his eyes like a child he was. "I don't know… maybe I'm not meant to have a fairy?"

"Not true. All children of the forest have a guardian fairy regardless of how they behave. Even that bully Mido has one, but why didn't you? The reason is simple. You are different from those that lived in this rotting forest," Kurama quipped. "And unlike them, you are destined for greatness."

"I'm… destined for greatness?" Naruto asked as he lifted his head, looking at the shadow orb.

"Yes. If you stay here, you are wasting your potential. Would you like to see the glimpse of it? The limitless power that lies deep within you? The capability you eventually have?" Kurama tempted as he moved closer to the child. "Touch me and I shall awaken it for you."

Naruto hesitantly let his fingers came in contact with Kurama. The moment he did, darkness swirled around him in mass. Seeing the ominous display, the white fairy immediately panicked.

"No, stop!" Navi called out and rammed against Kurama with her body, pushing him out the way and breaking off the contact. In doing so, the shroud of darkness that had enveloped Naruto dissipated as if it was a mere illusion.

Navi flew around the child with visible concern. "Are you alright? What did he do to you?"

"I don't think Kurama did anything," Naruto muttered while looking at his hands. He felt slight different, but that was all. Nothing else seemed out of place. Before Navi could ask another question, she was flicked hard against the wooden wall with a shadowy whip.

"That's for ramming into me! And I merely waking up what was already within him," Kurama growled angrily. Navi slid down the wall after the collision, but Naruto caught her in both hands before she touched the floor. She flapped her wings to fly upward, but dropped back down into the boy's hand after a few centimeters up.

"Don't move, I think you're hurt, Navi," Naruto pointed out as he closed his hands around her. "Just stay put. I'm going to take her back to the old man for help before we go, Kurama."

"I shouldn't have done that," Kurama scolded himself as he followed Naruto out of the tree house and into the balcony. Naruto was about to climb down the ladder with one hand, but Kurama spoke up again. "Unnecessary. You should be stronger and faster than before. This high up will not harm you in any ways, and even if you fell to the ground on accident, it would not be a lasting injury."

"Huh? Are you sure?" Naruto asked as he looked at Navi in his hands.

"Trust me on that," Kurama assured softly while hovering in front of Naruto. "I've said that I'm your guardian fairy. If that is the case, why would I want to injure you on purpose? Wouldn't that make me a very bad guardian?"

"That's right, I guess," Naruto said and nodded. He then took a deep breath and a leap of faith. He jumped off the ledge of the tree house and landed on the ground with a thud. He barely felt the recoil on his legs as he stood up straight again. "Wow, you're right!"

"Of course I'm right. I'm always right. You can jump higher, run faster, punch harder than you could before," Kurama stated. Naruto tested it out by jumping higher than he thought possible. He leaped over many children of the forest as they stared at him in awe.

"Naru?" Saria, a child of the forest, called out as he flipped over her.

"Oh hey! Look, I got a fairy now! It's black, but it's really cool," Naruto said excitedly as Kurama stared menacingly at Saria's white fairy. It was enough to cause the creature to hide behind the girl.

"Ah, I got to go. A fairy is hurt and I think the oldman is the only one can heal her," Naruto added while showing Navi in his palms.

"I'm happy for you, Naru," Saria said with a smile. "How are you going to get there? Mido is not letting anyone in to see the Great Deku Tree. I think there is something wrong."

"He's not? It's doesn't matter! I will just jump over him," Naruto called out as he was upside down in the air. The shadowy orb swirled around him playfully while trailing dark mist to mark its passing.

"Are you having fun?" Kurama asked after a while.

"Yep, this is awesome!" Naruto called out as he did several revolutions in the air before landing perfectly on his feet. "But it felt like natural like I could do it before. Isn't that strange?"

"No, not at all; there are many great things I can teach you, Naruto, but not around here," Kurama announced as it hovered before the blond. "Let's return the deadweight in your hands quickly, so we can be on our ways."

"Oh yeah, I forgot. Hang on, Navi. I will get you there in a blast," Naruto said and landed. He then bolted all the way to the largest tree in the entire forest.

"You can't pass here, Naruto!" Mido shouted as the blond smirked and jumped over the high wall.

Naruto attempted to reach the Great Deku Tree with a speed dash, but he skidded across the ground when it came into view. His blue eyes widened in shock when they captured the dying tree. "What's happening? Old man is dying?"

"It's appeared so," Kurama said as he examined the tree closely. A gigantic eye appeared on the withered body, causing Kurama to flinch in surprise. The demon, which was known as Queen Gohma, tried to attack him with her massive pincers.

Kurama managed to break out of his shock and evaded the strike narrowly. He recovered enough to retaliate by wrapping the overgrown insect with his nine onyx tails tightly. He then yanked the creature completely out of the tree before slamming it onto the ground. "This is the culprit."

"Stone… give me the stone!" Gohma demanded while trying to break out of the strong binding with all the strength she could muster. The shadowy orb tightened its grips to the point that her exoskeleton shell cracked under the pressure. "I must have the stone! Give it to me!"

"Tsk… Aim for the eyes, Naruto. Put it out of its misery," Kurama requested darkly while Naruto looked at the creature while clenching his fists. "What are you waiting for? Punch it as hard as you can."

Navi wasn't sure what to do at the moment. It seemed to her that the monster must die so the Great Deku Tree could revert back to normal, but she didn't want to ask a child to kill someone even if it was for the greater good. "Naruto… I think –

The Deku Tree groaned as if it had awakened from a very long sleep. The loud noise it gave off acquired everyone's immediate attention. "Even if you do, it is useless, Link."

"Ummm… It's Naruto, don't you remember my name, old man?" Naruto questioned with a sigh.

"Hahahah, I see now," Deku responded as he looked down at the young blond-haired boy. "You just reminded me of someone long ago… so long ago."

"He is senile," Naruto whispered to Navi, who stared at him disapprovingly. "Oh, sorry, I thought you were Kurama, Navi."

The Great Tree continued, ignoring the comments. "My life won't return back to normal regardless of what you do. As I was eaten by Gohma from within, I understood her intention. She is being control by a dark vile force, and her action was not her doing… such frightening power wielded by the black King of the desert. This person ceaselessly uses his dark sorcerous powers in his search for the Sacred Realm that is connected to Hyrule. For within this Sacred Realm, one will find the divine relic, the Tri-force, which contains the essence of the Gods."

"Umm… what's a Tri-force?" Naruto asked curiously.

"The Great One said it's a divine relic, containing the essence of the Gods!" Navi pointed out.

"I heard that, but I want to know more," Naruto retorted. "Like why is it called a Tri-force? If it's that divine, why isn't it being worshiped in a temple or something like that?"

"Hahahah," Deku laughed, but it sounded like a roar. "It is called the Tri-force because it is three sacred triangles left behind by the three Golden Goddesses after the creation of the land, sea and sky. The pieces are the manifestation of their Power, Wisdom and Courage. Together, the Tri-force has the power to reshape the world. If a person is of pure heart used it, it will become a just world. If a person of dark heart, it will be the world shrouded in tormenting darkness. A horrible crisis is drawing near, and you must not allow such a person to use the Tri-force in his ambition."

"There is no such thing as truly dark or truly light," Kurama snorted lowly. "Everyone has the capacity for great evil even if they don't know it themselves."

As if Naruto had heard Kurama, he spoke up. "Huh? But what if a person whose heart is clouded used the Tri-force? Would it be a dark world or a light world?"

"That's… I don't know," Deku admitted and looked at the boy. "I asked you here because I have a very important task for you. Here, take this."

A green emerald stone appeared before Naruto. Gohma roared as it saw one of the Spiritual Stones, but Kurama smashed its face multiple times against the dirt, knocking it out cold.

"Old man, you're giving this to me?" Naruto asked as he examined the large gem in his hands. "It looks expensive. Can I sell it? How much rupees does it worth?"

Both Navi and Deku froze up after the comment. In contrast, Kurama crackled up.

"DO NOT SELL IT FOR ANY AMOUNT OF RUPEES!" The Deku Tree shouted before coughing heavily while Navi wanted to slap the greedy boy. "You need to bring that to the Kingdom of Hyrule... There you shall find a Princess, who was chosen by the Gods... Give this stone to her…. She will know what to do with it."

"That's kind of vague, old man," Naruto stated, finishing his examination of the jewel. "This is the first time I'm heading out of the forest, so how do I know which princess? How do I know if she was chosen by the Gods or not? Can I speak to the Gods to confirm?"

"Not to mention a child carrying something like that around will make him a target," Kurama added while Naruto placed the priceless gem to his satchel. That was the only thing on him as he still hadn't acquired a sword or shield that was still somewhere in the forest.

"…. I'm dying… I believe in you, Naruto… please carry out my last wish. See princess Zelda… woops, I shouldn't have told you her name… but whatever…." the Great Deku Tree muttered lowly. "Also, take Navi with you. She will assist you in any way she can… do not ask her for weird favors… though…"

"Great One," Navi muttered sadly as the great voice could no longer be heard. Naruto simply watched the unmoving tree without a single word. Kurama just floated around the blond in thought.

"WHY ARE YOU TWO STILL HERE!?" The Great Deku Tree roared as they both flinched and stared up at him. "I'm really dead... this time around… Go already…. You're not getting… any younger."

"Well, you heard the man. Let's go before something else comes up," Kurama suggested before flying toward the exit. Naruto looked at the dead tree one last time and ran after his fairy. Navi was still hovering around the tree when Naruto called out to her.

"Aren't you coming, Navi?"

"But you already have a fairy," Navi responded in a cracking tone of voice.

"So? Why can't I have two? There is no rule against that," Naruto pointed out as Navi drifted toward him. "And the old man did tell you to assist me in any way you can, are you ignoring his last wish?"

"I…" Navi mumbled. "Do you want me to come along with you?"

"Sure, if you want. The more the merrier, isn't it? And I don't think Kurama would mind," Naruto said.

"I do mind!" Kurama shouted from the entrance. "Stop assuming things on your own! Leave her if she doesn't want to come."

"See? It's more fun already," Naruto said with a smile as he hoped on top of the wall. He looked back at the white fairy as she flew toward him. Kurama stared at her as she stared back.

"Dead weight," Kurama said. "Don't slow us down."

"But she's our deadweight," Naruto responded smartly while Navi nested on his head. He then checked the emerald in his green satchel to make sure it was still there. He felt like he was going to lose it any moment now.

**XxXxX**

"You're not coming back here are you?" Saria asked while her eyes saddened. She was standing before the blond in middle of the suspended wooden bridge, blocking the only entrance out of the forest.

"Saria," Naruto muttered and gathered his conviction. He had said goodbye to those within the forest as they were pondering why he had two fairies. "Yeah, after I complete the task given to me by the old man, I'm going on an endless adventure across the world like I always wanted. Since there's really nothing here for me, I'm not going to come back here."

"But I'm here," Saria called out heartedly. "I know that others kept making fun of you for not blessed with a guardian fairy, but you have two now. You're the only one who has two! No one will make fun of you ever again!"

"Saira… I always knew I was different," Naruto said, seemingly had grown more mature. "I'm not a Kokiri so one day I will have to grow up and leave this place. It's better now than later, for the both of us. Just let me go."

Kurama moved closer to Navi before asking: "Say, if the children of the forest doesn't grow up no matter how much time passes… how are they make more of themselves? I mean where were the little ones? Or do they pop up roughly at the same ages?"

"I… Stop asking stupid question. You're ruining the moment, and don't get friendly with me," Navi retorted sharply while moving away the shadowy orb. She had no clue how the Kokiri came to be. They just magically appeared from the forest and that was all she needed to know.

Naruto walked slowly past the stunned Saira. "But I will always consider this forest as my home. Thank you for everything, Saira."

"Please… wait, Naru," Saira sniffled as he did as requested. She tried her best to clear the tears away before handing him a fairy ocarina with a smile. "Take this and play it whenever you remember home. It will always be here for you when you needed help. Please be safe."

Naruto returned the smile and looked at the musical instrument. He then placed it on his lips, playing the song of the forest as he continued on his path. For a few minutes, there was only the melody echoing through the trees.

"I don't think it matter if he was a Kokiri or not," Navi whispered as she hovered closer to Kurama before backing away in haste.

Kurama snickered and drifted toward white fairy while she tried to move away. He tried again, but she was constantly evading him. After a while, Kurama got annoyed and chased her around. "Stop running away! I was going to tell you something!"

"What are you two doing? You're ruining the song," Naruto said as he looked at the two fairies. Under the disapproving gaze of the child, they stopped playing a game of tag. Naruto sat down on a small boulder and looked at the ocarina in his hand for a brief moment. He then placed it in his satchel and stared at the empty field ahead with a thoughtful expression. "I feel like I'm missing something."

Navi and Kurama drifted around the blond before hovering before him.

"Did you pack food and drinks for the journey ahead?" Navi questioned.

"You have no usable weapons with you," Kurama pointed out. "A small shield and a short sword would be nice to have, but I think people would want a child running around with something like that."

Naruto nodded in agreement. "But I should have one just in case. There are bad people in the world and I should be able to defend myself."

"That's true," Kurama said as it hovered away. "I'll be right back."

Naruto checked the satchel again as soon as Kurama was out of view. "Heh… and I don't have any money either."

"Why didn't you bring anything with you?" Navi asked after a while. "At least you should have brought some foods and drinks. We're going to starve aren't we?"

"Huh? Do fairies eat stuff?"

"Of course we do," Navi stated. "And what do you mean stuff?"

"Heh… sorry, I never had one before," Naruto said sheepishly with sweat-dropping.

Navi sighed and let the boy some slack. "We have to do something about foods. At least enough for you to eat or you won't reach Hyrule Castle."

"There's plenty of food around here if you bother to look for it. If not, we can steal some if you want to train your stealth skills," Kurama said as it flew toward them, carrying an item. It dropped a short sword with a simple scabbard onto the ground before Naruto.

"That's stealing! I forbid it," Navi called out while Naruto checked the blade. "Where did you steal the sword from?"

"Tsk, no fun at all, and stop accusing me of stuff I didn't do," Kurama snorted and returned his attention to Naruto. "This weapon is called a **_Hiraishin Blade_**. It is the most powerful sword in the world, and the only one you ever need. You won't find a more useful one than it."

"Wow! It's that great?" Naruto called out excitedly as he pointed the weapon at the sky, allowing the sunlight to reflect off the triangular edges. He noted the blade was oddly familiar as if he had seen it somewhere before, but couldn't put his finger on it. "How much does it worth?"

"Eh? You're not going to sell it are you?" Kurama asked as Naruto gave a shrug. "By itself, it's just a dead paperweight to most people. It won't worth much, but in your hand, it is the most deadly weapon ever conceived."

"Really?"

"He's probably exaggerating its ability," Navi added her opinion.

"No, I didn't," Kurama said as a tendril pointed at the sword. "Do you feel it calling to you?"

"So that was it? I thought I was coming down with something," Naruto said as he swung the weapon around like a novice. There was a strange feeling that the sword emitted every time he did. Navi didn't feel anything as she checked the blade with more interest. "Why is it doing that?"

"If you want to know, then try throwing it at something far away. Once you do, wish it was in your hand again," Kurama suggested as Naruto did as requested. He felt the blade lit up like a beacon and as soon as he wished it was within his hand again. He teleported directly to where it was while its handle was griped tightly in his hand.

"Wow… that was so cool! Let me try again!" Naruto called out and threw it in the air again and again. He found that half of the times he had tried the technique, the blade teleported to him instead. He got the hang of how it worked after a while. "So I can never lose it?"

"Of course you can lose it," Kurama said. "It just never truly be lost as long as it still exists in one piece somewhere. It will always come to you if you call to it. You can also use it to get to high place. Just throw it wherever you need to go before teleport to it."

"Awesome!" Naruto called out while practicing his swordsmanship clumsily.

"Why don't you try channeling your energy through it," Kurama suggested as Naruto did as requested.

Naruto felt queasy as the sword edges shimmered a little. He increased the amount while gripping his hand tightly. A torrent of wind blasted forward from tip of the sword sending him backward. In his panic, he dropped the blade as it ricocheted around for a while.

"It can shoot winds?" Naruto questioned as he held it firmly in his hand again.

"Yes, but you didn't do it correctly. I thought you could do **_wind blades_** at the moment since it is your natural affinity," Kurama said with a frown. "Look like you need to learn the basic again. This will take some times. Can you go find us something to eat, Navi?"

"Eh? I'm not a servant," Navi called out.

"Fine, I will go kill someone and take their foods. Can you teach him how to use the wind blades while I do that?" Kurama asked.

The white fairy admitted defeat and did as requested. Once it left the immediate area, Kurama returned back to the blond. "I need to awaken your Chakra in full this time. The last time was incomplete due to her interference."

"Chakra?" Naruto questioned at the strange, yet familiar word.

"It is the power that lies within you, but it's currently dormant. Once it is fully awakened, you can do feat you can only dreamed of," Kurama said with a smile. "The sword in your hand will act as a medium until you're older."

Naruto looked at the blade in his hand in thought. "Say, Kurama. Who are you really? The old man didn't seem to notice you at all. He didn't acknowledge you once when you were there. You're somehow invisible to him aren't you?"

"Hehehe… yes, I was masking my presence since I'm not a fairy," Kurama admitted. "But I was truthful when I said I'm your guardian, Naruto. You are destined for greatness even if you're like this now."

"From what you just said, it sounded like I'm not supposed to be like this," Naruto said, patting his body after holstering his new sword. "Am I supposed to be different? Older?"

"I'm afraid I can't tell you since I have an agreement. If you want to know who you are and what you supposed to be, then claim the Tri-force from the Sacred Realm," Kurama said as a tendril pointed at the satchel. "That green emerald is one of the three Spiritual Stones. I don't know where the other two are, but if you acquired all three, you are one step closer to the truth."

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**Author Note:**

What was that? Yeah, you heard Kurama. This story isn't a rehashed version of the original plotline. For one, Naruto isn't really a typical hero like Link, who is selfless. Pairing is obvious so I don't need to point that out.


	2. Legend of Zelda

**The Hero of Time** (NarutoxZelda)

**Disclaimer:** This story is fiction. All the characters, names and places belong to their respective owners.

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**=[Legend of Zelda]=**

"Ha! Wha! Sha!" Naruto shouted as he slashed and stabbed the air rapidly. The two fairies nearby, one fake and one real, watched him trained with interest. Torrent of winds swirled around the blade, folded several times over and into a fine edge, giving the sword unprecedented sharpness. Naruto threw the sword like a flying knife with added spins from his wrist, sending it colliding against a large boulder. The blade drilled into the stone effortlessly, and as soon as it emerged out from the other side, he teleported toward it. Gripping it tightly, he did a full rotational slash, bisected the boulder in half along with several trees around him with a circular blast of wind.

"Naru has gotten much stronger in such a short amount of time," Navi noted excited. The boy continued to practice his skill by cutting through the surrounding trees with ease as she watched on.

"Of course, who do you think is his master," Kurama claimed with pride, hovering around Navi. "… but I will give it credit where it is due. I admit I was surprised at Naruto's level of mastery, but it might have something to do with his natural ability with the sword. Without the innate gift, this would have taken a much longer time. That said, he still has much further to go."

"Can't you give compliment without taking something back?" Navi questioned with slight annoyance.

"Criticism makes him work harder. It reminds him there is room left for improvement," Kurama answered calmly. "Anyway, this level of swordsmanship is nothing special really. Using a single element isn't as hard as it seems. There are four more elements to go, and I want him to become acquaintance with them all."

"There's four more? Did you miscount? There are only Wind, Water, Earth, and Fire… what's the fifth one?"

"The fifth one is thunder; the power of lightning," Kurama answered with a sigh. "It is a rarely used element, but it is an element nonetheless. If Naruto managed to master each one, he could combine them together in order to create other effects. For example, he could manipulate ice by combining wind and water with correct portions each; magma if mixing earth and fire together; steam through water and fire. Different amount of each element can cause different effects, so the possibility is limitless."

Navi blinked at the explanation. She didn't know there was such kind of magic in the world. It begged the question as to why no one had used it before. "What happened if you combine all five elements together?"

"If done correctly, something impressive will happen," Kurama answered cryptically, making Navi stared at him. He stared back. "When Naruto gets there, he will show it to you. Telling you now will ruin the surprise. On another note, you only have one task to do while I trained him, and you failed spectacularly at it."

"Eh… but I… I did my best," Navi said weakly as she sank toward the ground in shame. "There are no fruits bearing trees around this area. I've checked several times already."

"This isn't Kikori Forest, dumb dumb. There isn't an abundant amount of fruits at arm length, and even if it was so, Naruto shouldn't eat something like that all the time. Fruits and vegetables might be a good diet for the children of the forest, but he isn't one of them since he does aged. His growth is stunned at the moment. Can't you tell?" Kurama snorted with irritation. He then sighed and cleared his mind. "But I guess this is what happens when you give such a big task for something so puny."

"Puny… Hey! You're the same size as me," Navi called out.

"Yes, that's true, but I'm immensely more powerful than you," Kurama said as one of his onyx tendrils morphed into a shadowy hand. The pseudo limb surged toward the ground and lifted the large log to demonstrate a point. Kurama then dropped the log and morphed the hand back to its original form. "I'm also smarter, more knowledgeable… so why are you even tagging along? What can you do for him that I can't? Even a simple task as finding proper foods is too difficult for you."

Navi continued to descend lower with each jabs, before she landed onto an opened palm of a blond-haired boy. "Naru… maybe I should return to the forest. I'm just a burden, am I?"

"Kurama! Stop putting Navi down! She's doing the best she can!" Naruto called out as he sheathed his sword on his back.

"Exactly," Kurama snorted. "If that was the best, then she's isn't going to get any better."

"Wow… that's harsh, really harsh," Naruto said with a headshake. "Navi came along with us because I asked her too, and the berries she bought back were good enough. If you don't like them, then go find something to your taste!"

"Tsk, I didn't even eat it. I'm only pointing out her shortcomings and reminding her that the outside world isn't like the forest she came from," Kurama said as he orbited around the blond. "If it was up to her, you might have become a corpse somewhere already. Sending a ten year old out in the world for the first time is like telling him to go and die. There are many monsters lurked in the woods and caves, you know."

Naruto didn't want to argue with its logic. "Yeah, but be subtle about it. You don't need to call it how you see it!"

"Yeah, yeah," Kurama said and hovered before Navi. "Alright, cheer up. Even an insect can be useful so you might graduate to one, one day."

"Kurama!"

"Sorry," Kurama apologized. "Since you don't know the Sun's Song, I suggest we head out of this wood before nightfall. It will get very dangerous around here with all the freaking spiders lurking about… They are not strong, but they freaked me out."

"You scare of spiders?" Naruto asked, but Kurama stared at him. "Forget that I asked. Maybe I should get a shield for extra protection? I could carve one out of wood right now."

"A shield is unnecessary," Kurama advised as he looked at all the fallen trees. "It is bulky to use and only slow you down. The best defense is the best of offence. In the simplest term, if you force your opponent into constantly defending themselves, then you don't need to protect yourself since they can't attack you."

Naruto scratched his head and fixed his green hat. "Yeah, I sort of understand. Attack them before they could attack me."

"Hmmm… yeah okay," Kurama stated before looking at the slowly darkened sky. "There is still some time left, and since Navi is so bad at her job, I suggest we all go hunt down some delicious meats for the road ahead. There are plenty of animals around here for you to kill and roast. It would be easier if you have mastered the basic usage of fire first. Maybe I should get you started on that as well."

"Eh!? Another element, and hunting for foods?" Naruto questioned the boring tasks. "I don't want to… I want to go on and explore the world! I'm already strong enough. Did you see me slash through all the trees and shrubs?"

"Yes, I did, but immoveable target is not the same as those you will eventually face," Kurama pointed out. "Real enemies will not just stand by and let you attack them. Having more skill at your disposal will give you a wider range of attacks. And sustenance is necessary to keep you in top shape."

"I…" Naruto began, but the fairy in his hand squirmed to get his attention.

"Naru, listen. We need to get to Hyrule Castle as the Great One requested," Navi advised. "It is an important task that only you can do. The Great One has warned us about the darkness descending upon the land. Getting the Kokiri's Emesrald to the Princess will deter that, and you don't want the princess waiting forever for you."

"Huh? She's waiting for me?" Naruto asked with a surprise.

Navi gave a pause and pondered about the correct answers. "Yes, I think so. Since she is chosen by the Gods, she should have prophetic visions. I believed she already know you are coming."

"Wow, she has visions about me?" Naruto said, feeling like he was someone of importance. "Huh, Navi… doesn't that mean she knows what I'm doing right now?"

"No, I don't think such ability works that way," Navi answered while Kurama drifted around the blond.

"But I'm not sure. You should go see her if you want to confirm for yourself," she added.

"Before doing anything, we should gather some foods," Kurama interjected, but he seemingly was ignored by the blond.

Naruto had a thoughtful expression. His mind contemplated the difficulty of the task while drowning out everything else. He finally spoke up when his mind noted some problems. "But the castle guards wouldn't just let anyone in to see her would they? And if I show them the jewel, they might confiscate it from me. Also, wouldn't giving such an important object to her instantly make her a target?"

The blond then leered at the shadow fairy after taking out the green spiritual stone. "Kurama said this is one of three Spiritual Stones. Together, they can open the gateway to the Sacred Realm and grant the passage to the Tri-force. It is the reason why an evil man wants to open it to further his agenda. If I take it with me far away from Hyrule, then there's no way he could get what he wanted right?"

"Interesting suggestion, but doing so will derail the whole plotline, Naruto," Kurama said lowly. "And if you leave this land right now, you won't be able to claim the Tri-force."

"What was that!?" Navi called out as Kurama tried to learn how to whistle. "Naru wants the Tri-force?"

Navi hovered right before Naruto, who sweat-dropped at her staring. "Do you want the Tri-force? Those that desired it will only bring forth calamity. You mustn't give in to temptation!"

"No… I just want to have a look at it, that's all," Naruto said meekly while averting his eyes away from the fairy. "It's a divine artifact left by the Goddesses since the world's creation so of course I want to see it for myself. Wouldn't you do the same?"

"Oh… I see. If you just want to see it then it's fine. But to enter the Sacred Realm, you need to open the gateway," Navi said while several grim scenarios passed through her mind. It seemed like the boy was not of pure heart like she had expected him to be. If those with tainted heart touched the Tri-force, the world would reflect their nature. She didn't want to know what would happened if Naru did.

The white fairy examined at the innocence face of the boy as he examined at the Emerald for the umpteenth times. There was no lust of power within those eyes for now. "Naru. I agree with your suggestion. We should leave this land and go somewhere far away. We could bury this spiritual stone in a place where no one could find it."

"You thought it was a good plan too?" Naruto asked, blinking. "Yeah, let's do that. If one of them is missing, no one can enter the Sacred Realm right?"

"Yes, you need all three to open the path. But don't you want to see Princess Zelda at least once before you leave Hyrule?" Kurama asked as he floated closer to the blond, bumping Navi out the way. "She's a princess, so you know she's a great looker. Don't you want to see a pretty girl like that?"

"She is?" Naruto asked.

Navi tried to push Kurama out of the way before he could corrupt the boy further, but her effort was in vain since Naruto seemed to only hear Kurama.

"The cutest," Kurama added alluringly. "You know, she might even give you a kiss for bringing such a sought for item to her."

"A… a kiss!?" Naruto shouted while his cheeks were cherry red. He pressed his hands against them, feeling the temperature rising. He then looked around the sparsely spaced trees and ran off in the general direction. "Which way is Hyrule Castle?"

Navi blinked and chased after the boy. She caught up to the shadowy orb before growling at it. "What are you doing? Stop corrupting him."

"I'm not. I was just saying what he wanted to hear. You should learn how to do that if you wish to persuade him to your side," Kurama advised with a smirk. "Wouldn't it better if we find all three of Stones and take it with us? Princess Zelda might know where they are. And did you not remember what had happened to the Great One? I think the holders of the other two are also in peril, so shouldn't we help them?"

"I-I… I didn't think… I…" Navi stuttered before exhaling deeply. "I will go along with it now for now. But is this the right direction?"

"Not sure, but we'll see," Kurama said almost calmly as he flew ahead. He nested beneath the green hat on top of the blond's head. Navi did the same as both of them ride Naruto across the desert with impressive speed.

Naruto ran for hours with the only a few things in mind. First, he wanted to see the princess and judge for himself, and secondly, he would exchange the large emerald in his satchel for a kiss. The idea of being kissed by a princess was satisfying in itself. He could gloat about it to Mido if he ever returned to the forest. Nothing could top that off.

Unfortunately, his desire was replaced with something else as he collapsed onto the sands under the night sky. He mumbled and fell asleep due to exhaustion. Kurama was already snoozing while Navi sighed and did the same.

His stomach grumbled loudly as morning came around again. He groaned and pulled himself up before collapsing onto the sand again. In doing so, he awakened both fairies. "I'm starving… Is there anything to eat?"

"Not around here, and I did tell you to pack some foods," Kurama stated flatly. "Also, congratulation for making it this far on an empty stomach. I was wondering when you're running out of steam."

"Naru…" Navi muttered as she hovered around him. "Get up, you can't stay here. The sun is rising!"

"Mmmm…. I want to… but I'm so hungry," Naruto muttered lowly and began to crawl across the granite earth like a slug. There was nothing for miles all around him while the relentless sun bearing down on him. "I'm really thirsty…"

"Thirsty huh… do you learn how to manipulate the water element now?" Kurama asked calmly. "You can create water from your own energy, but since you're low on it, it isn't a solution either. Maybe we can find an oasis soon."

Naruto blinked wearily and tried to pull himself up again. He staggered and fell onto the ground before rolling down a slope. He tried again while mumbling: "So hot…"

"You should give up. You don't have any strength left in you," Kurama added after seeing the pointless struggle. Navi tried to scout ahead, but only sands were within her vision.

"Kurama… aren't you supposed to be my guardian…. why are you so calm when I'm like this?" Naruto asked after a while. "It's like you want to see me suffer…"

"Heh… Not at all," Kurama said as he left the comfort of the hat and floated in front of the blond. "I just want you to know that you should have listened to me. If you had gather some foods before running off then you wouldn't be in such condition. Know your limits before you act. This is a lesson. Did you learn it well?"

"Yes. I'm sorry, I will listen to you next time," Naruto apologized. "Can you help me now?"

Kurama nodded. His shadowy body enlarged while tendrils twisted and swirled around him as he morphed into a pitch black horse. The phantom mare shook its entire body before sending out a tendril to uplift the boy onto its back. Kurama then eyed Navi. "Well? Get on, or you want to fly along. I will be moving very fast, so you might have trouble keeping up."

Navi decided to the right thing and held on to Naruto's hairs as black tendrils strapped over his body to prevent him from falling off. Kurama screeched as he leaped and galloped across the desert, leaving a trail of blasting sands behind every step. Soon enough, the landscape around him shifted into greenery with a viable source of water. After quenching their thirst, Kurama continued onward with the lazy passengers.

"We're here… and I'm tired," Kurama said as he returned to his orb form, waking Naruto and Navi up by letting them crashing into the ground.

"This is Hyrule Castle Town? I thought you didn't know where it was," Navi asked, hovering above the groaning blond since he went face first into the cobblestone.

"I didn't, but I check the wooden signs along the way," Kurama answered with a yawn.

"If you could transform into that, why didn't you do it before?" Naruto asked, rubbing his face and long ears while his stomach rumbled loudly. "We could have made it here much faster if you did."

"I'm not a horse to be ridden whenever you feel like it, Naruto," Kurama snorted as he landed on top of blond's head and pulled the green cap over. "It also took great amount of effort to maintain that form while carrying you two here. I'm going to sleep for a little bit. Navi, go find him something to eat before he die of starvation."

"But we have no money," Navi argued, but Kurama was already snoozing under the green hat. Naruto fell flat on the ground, groaning.

"Please get up, you can't lay here like this," Navi told Naruto.

"I'm so hungry. I can't move my body anymore," Naruto muttered lowly. His nose noticed the taunting aroma of nourishing substance that he'd never sense before. He stared at the closest vendor while mustering all the strength he had into one hand. He used that hand to lift up a large emerald. "I only have this on me so trade it for some foods."

"Eh!?" Navi called out. "The Great One said you can't do that!"

"He did?" Naruto questioned before blinking. "No, the old man said I can't sell it for any amount of rupees…. He didn't say I couldn't trade it for foods."

"It's the same thing!" Navi argued while pouncing in the air. "You can't just give something like that away! What if it falls into the hands of that evil person?"

"But I'm starving, Navi. What's the point if I'm going to die," Naruto moaned while some adults looked at him. They didn't bother to stop to render any aid for one reason or another. "I rather have an apple than this thing right now. Who want to trade with me?"

"Is this fine?" asked a blond-haired girl with aquamarine eyes, crouching down in front of him. Naruto stared up at her before looking the piece of steaming bread in her outstretched hand. He eagerly accepted it.

"Thank you, thank you, thank you," Naruto practically sobbed while chewing and savoring the fluffy texture of the bread for all its worth. "I have never tasted something like this before. It's a hundred times better than the stuff in the forest. Can I please have some more? I haven't eaten anything in the last couple of days!"

"Oh… You must be starving… Umm… wait here," the girl advised and checked some of the nearby vendors. Once she done her shopping, she handed all she had brought in a large bag. "I don't know how much you can eat so I brought as much I could carry. I hope this is enough."

Naruto looked at the amount of food he was given. Tears streaming out of his eyes as he nodded repeatedly.

The girl then watched him gulping each succulent editable piece down as if his life was depending on it with a smile. To his side, a white fairy was sampling a few, but with more courtesy. The other fairy, who was out of view, was still asleep.

"I know it's good, but you need to slow down before you choke… umm…"

"Naru…to," Naruto introduced himself with a mouthful. He then struggled to swallow what was in his mouth. He almost chocked his throat was clogged up. "Mhmmfph…"

The girl panicked and patted his back to help him swallow while Navi sweat-dropped.

"Hehehehe… I really thought I was going to die. You really are my savior!" Naruto thanked her.

"Your savior, huh," she said as the blond nodded repeatedly before stuffing his mouth again. After he had his fill, he patted his bloated stomach and placed the remaining amount into his satchel for later.

"Yeah, you're my life saver!" Naruto assured and handed her the large emerald. "Here you go. I hope this covered it."

Zelda looked at the spiritual stone before eyeing the blond boy again. "It is a very lovely stone, but are you sure you should be giving it to me? Isn't it something of important?"

"Naru, you shouldn't give it away like that! You suppose to give it to Princess Zelda!" Navi called out.

"But she gave us food, Navi, and I want to repay her in some way," Naruto said and patted himself. "I don't have anything of value on me beside my sword. I don't think she wants a sword."

"Naru!" Navi called out, but it was in vain. She couldn't stop him from giving away the item that the Great Deku Tree entrusted him. "Please forgive me, Great One. I've failed…"

Naruto rolled his eyes. "It's not like I could just walk to the princess and give her it, Navi. This might be better."

"But… But…"

"There is no need to worry. I will give it to her when I see her," Zelda assured the duo with a smile. "She and I are best friends after all."

"Really? You know the princess personally? Wow, you're must be rich then! What does the she looks like? Is she as cute as you?" Naruto questioned excitedly while Navi stared at the girl suspiciously.

Zelda giggled at the blond. "Tehehehe, no one is as cute as me."

"Really?" Naruto called out with a smile. He then frowned. "But then I got nothing else to give you… can I owe you a favor?"

"You know what? You can accompany me around the town all day as a repayment," Zelda requested.

Naruto accepted immediately as he wanted to check out the town as well. Having a cute girl with him was a bonus. Time flew by as they both visited numerous vendors and played various games while laughing at each other. They quickly became friends even though he didn't know her name. Navi remained suspicious at the girl while Kurama mumbled something in his sleep ever now and then.

Eventually, Naruto remembered the fun time he had back in the forest and played the ocarina that Saira had given him for such occasion. Zelda captured the beautiful melody as it repeated several times. She then joined him with her own ocarina. The soothing tune both children played filled the street they were in as some passing Hylians crowded around them and listened.

"Thank you, thank you," Naruto said after he finished. The crowd clapped before dispersing again. He then turned toward the girl, who held the ocarina in her hand. It was different from his, but it played the same. "Wow you have an ocarina as well?"

"Yes, this is my family heirloom," Zelda replied. "It is a –

Zelda stopped abruptly as she hid herself from view before anyone noticed. Naruto raised a brow when a woman passed him by with several armored guards in tow. She seemed to be their leader, and they appeared to be looking for someone by questioning the people in sight. Someone among the scattered crowd pointed at him accusingly.

"Hey, I didn't do anything!" Naruto called out and was about to run away, but the woman pulled him back by the collar before he could. He was about to attack her with his sword, but Navi stopped him from causing chaos.

"Hang on, little boy. I don't mean you any harm. I just want to know where the little girl with blond hair and blue eyes that was with you is right now," Impa assured and let her hand go. She couldn't divulge that she was looking for the princess, who ran off to see the town when nobody was looking.

"I don't know what you're talking about! Let me go!" Naruto demanded before his blue eyes were glued to the pouch of rupees clattering in the woman's hand. He wasn't sure how much it was, but it was definitely more than he ever had on him. "Ugh… I might have seen something… I think that's about the right incentive."

Impa handed Naruto the pouch with a smile. He checked how much within roughly before telling Impa to lean down so he could whisper information to her. Impa's eyes widened with shock when she heard the boy's words. She called the guards to follow her in haste.

"You should not have done that, Naru!" Navi called out, tapping the money pouch.

"But it's a fair trade isn't it? I've told her where I think a blond-haired and blue eyes girl went and she paid me for the information," Naruto questioned with a smile while leaning against the wall. He looked around briefly to make sure if anyone was watching. Most of the crowd had already left as soon as the guards were.

"Why don't you go home already, Princess Zelda," Naruto said.

"!" Navi was stunned at the revelation. "Princess Zelda?"

Zelda stuck her head out of hiding place. She looked at the boy with a surprised expression. "Huh? How did you know who I was? I haven't told you my name yet."

"Hmmm… actually, I wasn't sure at first, but you just confirmed it for me," Naruto said with a small shrug. Seeing Zelda and Navi staring at him, he elaborated further. "The way that scary lady was behaving, I'm assuming she must be looking for someone of great important. Since she commanded the guards of the castle, she might be looking for a criminal or someone of high standing. There's no way you're a criminal because you're so nice and cute, so when I was thinking more on it, I concluded you must be of royalty, thus you're a princess. As for your name, all princesses in Hyrule are named Zelda so she must be Princess Zelda. Am I right?"

"Naru. How old are you, really?" Navi asked as Naruto tilted his head in confusion.

"I'm ten…?" Naruto said after counting his fingers while Zelda giggled. He then rubbed the back of his head shyly. "Umm… look like I accomplished the task given to me by the old man after all… you can't complain anymore right, Navi?"

"Yes," Navi admitted. "I'm sorry for before, Princess Zelda."

"No, it's fine," Zelda said. She then returned her attention to Naruto.

Naruto returned the gaze. Her eyes were much different than before. "You knew didn't you?"

"Yes, I knew the moment I saw the Spiritual Stone in your hand," Zelda said with saddened eyes. "I had this dream. It was a frightening dream, in which all of Hyrule was overshadowed by ominous black clouds. But then a light appears and cuts through the darkness, shining upon the lands. Within that last ray of hope, a silhouette of a person stands, holding a stone with green light. I believed that person is you."

"Okay… that was oddly vague, and you're jumping to conclusion," Naruto muttered lowly. "It was fun, Zelda. I will be on my way now."

"I see," Zelda said, seeing how the blond might not be the person in her dream. "Maybe I'm wrong… maybe you're not the person in my vision."

"Vision, Ah!" Naruto called out. He realized the girl before him had the same facial features as a person in his dream. The girl in there was heavily wounded, running through the emptied corridor. Her blood marked her passing, allowing her pursuer to follow. It was a man cladded in black cloak with a mask. His action betrayed his eyes, however. Those dark blue eyes filled with sadness.

Naruto sighed and turned back to the girl before drawing his blade and seemingly slashing at her. Zelda ducked out the way as the boy's sword clashed against the sword of another person.

"Who are you? Why did you try to kill her?" Naruto demanded as the armored man stared down at him with a smirk.

"Ganondorf…" Zelda muttered as she stepped backward.

"Apologies, Princess Zelda," Ganondorf said, flicking Naruto away with a swing of his blade. He then holstered it calmly. "It's a sad day for Hyrule as their beloved princess met an unfortunate fate while she wandered around town without her escorts. Then King then died of grief while chaos erupted in the capital."

"That's… no, you wouldn't," Zelda muttered with shock as Naruto shielded her with weapon in hand. He wasn't sure what was happening, but he felt the incredible killing intention emanating from the man along with dreadful aura. He also noticed there were many other cloaked people watching him, waiting for some sort of orders. With a gulp, Naruto steadied his hand while the hiraishin blade glowed brightly with energy. Wind swirled in the air before wrapping itself around the blade, forming a sharp edge.

"Hoh? That is an interesting ability, and very dangerous," Ganondorf claimed and sent forth a powerful magical blast. Naruto blocked it with his sword, but the shockwave washed over the weapon and flung him to the side.

Ganondorf was about to grab Zelda, but a flying sword force him to evade. To his surprise, the child who threw it materialized in front of him, holding the handle. In one swift motion, the blade slashed through his armor with ease even though the tip did not touched him. He staggered back, holding his chest. If it wasn't for the magical shield, he would have been cut in half. "I have underestimated you. Where did you learn such magic?"

"I'm not telling you anything," Naruto called out and charged forward, but he was flung away by a powerful invisible force. He tried to throw the sword at the man again, but a pitch-black portal opened up and swallowed the weapon before it could reach its intended target. Naruto was then impacted with another magical blast causing him to gasp in pain. He collapsed onto the ground groaning while Navi tried to encourage him.

"Stop," Zelda called out and blocking Ganodorf's attempt to kill the boy with her body. "I will give you what you want, but please spare him."

Ganodorf didn't say anything, but outstretched his hand and demanded the artifacts she had. Zelda gave him the green spiritual stone as he lifted up to his eyes and examined it. He then returned his attention to the little girl. "And the Ocarina?"

"Don't do it!" Naruto roared, pulling himself up while Zelda held the musical instrument shakily. "You cannot let him have that! It's your precious family heirloom isn't it? Don't give him such thing! I don't want to be at his mercy like that!"

"Hmfph… I never said I would spare either of you. The idiot girl gave me it on her own," Ganondorf pointed out as Zelda was speechless. With a wave of his hand, he flung Naruto into the wall hard – bone shattering. With another hand gesture, Naruto was crashed onto the ground as Zelda crouched down by his side. She was sobbing as she couldn't do anything to help him.

"I'm so sorry, Naruto, for dragging you into this," Zelda whimpered as the blond look up at her teary face. He coughed heavily afterward as something in his hair stirred.

"Kurama, please help," Naruto muttered lowly.

"This is the reason why I want you to master the rest of the elements, but you didn't want to," Kurama whispered. "See what I mean now? There are people like him in the world. They can squash you as you are right now."

"Please help," Naruto muttered again.

"I cannot do anything at the moment," Kurama refused flatly. "I suggest you escape for now, and come back when you're stronger. Live and fight another day."

"But… what about Zelda?" Naruto mumbled. "I can't just leave her here."

"I think you already know what to do," Kurama responded. "He has one of the stones right now, so you must claim the other two before he could."

"Navi," Naruto called as the fairy hovered around him. He grabbed before pulling himself up and tackled Zelda to her shock. All four of them, two children and two fairies, vanished right before Ganondorf's eyes.

"Find the Princess, and bring me the Ocarina," Ganondorf ordered as all the masked thief complied.

**XxXxX**

Only darkness covered his vision once he felt the sword in his hand. He moved his other hand around to feel anything close by. A girl shrieked as he pressed his palm against her. A white orb hovered around him, expelling the darkness and lighting the way. He looked down and realized he was on top of Zelda.

"Zelda," Naruto called out as he jerked upward, only to bang his head against the hard ceiling. He fell back down on top of the girl as stars swirled around his eyes. "I'm sorry… I didn't mean it… to touch you there…"

"Stop saying such strange thing, Naruto," Zelda said, pushing the boy to the side so she could look around. The only light available was from Navi. "Where are we?"

"Inside a very deep chasm, apparently," Kurama answered as he scanned the surrounding. "As to where exactly… I'm not sure."

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**Author Notes: **

Zelda is joining Naruto on his adventure so I can develop their relationship while hunting down the rest of the stones, which shouldn't take too long. Ganondorf is also active in this instead of just sitting back and ordering his goons to do all the work. I really hate an antagonist like that.


	3. Trials of a Child

**The Hero of Time** (NarutoxZelda)

**Disclaimer:** This story is fiction. All the characters, names and places belong to their respective owners.

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**=[Trials of a Child]=**

The edge of the sword glowed reddish before bursting into flames, causing its wielder to pant. The torrent of fire died away, allowing the surrounding darkness to envelope him once more. He had to try again as the flame he'd created was too intense, burning far too brightly and sapping his energy too rapidly.

"Don't put too much into it," Kurama suggested while hovering around the child with little difficulty. He could make out everything in total darkness, but the other three companions could not. "Naruto, you should only channel enough energy to produce sufficient light and heat. Otherwise, you will just exhaust yourself pointlessly."

"I know already, so can you please stop nagging me," Naruto said and exhaled deeply. He cleared his mind as the edge of the handheld blade glow faintly. Slowly, the brightness and heat it produced increased until the desired level. He maintained such intensity for a few seconds before the blade erupted into torrent of fire, forcing him to dissipate it again. "Damn it… I'm tired. Why can't we use Navi as a torch light all the way to the exit?"

Kurama stared at the glowing white fairy ahead. It was orbiting a blond-haired girl so she would not stumble in the taunting darkness. Strangely enough, Navi was useful in this place. Kurama let out a snort. "She could, but you shouldn't reply on others all the time. Depend only on your own power, and besides, you need to learn how to manipulate fire so this is a good time to do it. Do you want to be beaten by Ganondorf again?"

Hearing the name, Zelda tripped over small fissure along the floor. Her tumbling caused Naruto to rush toward her, almost tripping along the way. He was about to speak up when he helped her up, but the white orb did instead.

"Be careful, Princess," Navi warned as she hovered lower to the ground. "The stones along this path are very unstable."

"I'm sorry for worry you," Zelda apologized and looked at Naruto. "I was thinking about my father back at the castle. I hope he's okay."

"That evil man wouldn't hurt the King would he?" Navi asked, but Zelda wasn't sure. At the moment, she didn't know what Ganondorf would do to further his own ambition, but it was likely he would seek out the rest of the spiritual stones. He had one of them in his possession, so he needed the rest to open the gateway to the Sacred Realm.

"He would if it meets his goal," Zelda said and gripped the ocarina of time tightly. When her hands began to tremble, another held it and stopped the shakiness.

"Don't think about it too much," Naruto assured with a smile. Zelda noticed it since Navi passed in between them. Once the fairy passed, Naruto continued. "If we manage to keep one of the stones away from him then he won't be able to enter the Sacred Realm no matter what!"

"Do you think so?" Zelda asked.

"Err… yeah… I think. Don't you need three spiritual stones to open the path to the Tri-force? That's what Kurama told me," Naruto said as he pointed at the shadowy orb above them. Kurama decreased his elevation.

"Actually, that's not exactly true. You needed four things in total, but the fourth one is a bit tricky. Three stones and the song of time will show the way to the golden world," Kurama said as a tendril pointed at the ocarina in Zelda's hands. "The song must be played by that specific instrument or it won't work. That is the reason why Ganondorf wants it. Why did he want to kill you though? Maybe he's already knew the song?"

Zelda blinked at the shadowy orb, pondering how it knew so much. Kurama stared back at her with a smirk.

"Are you thinking about how I knew what should have been a Kingdom's most kept secret?" Kurama asked as Zelda nodded curiously. "I might look like this, but I'm old… very old. You could say I was around in the time when Hyrule did not exist; when the land, sky and sea were just in its inception by the three goddesses; when the Tri-force was bestowed upon the inhabitants of the world; when war broke out among those that lust for power; when the endless cycle of three entwined spirits began to take hold."

Kurama floated away from the princess and hovered in front of Naruto. "Due to the duality that exists before even the Goddesses themselves, dark and light exists in balance. The Tri-force itself will not prevent anyone from using it, regardless of whether they are good or evil. So, the seven great Sages of Hyrule took it upon themselves to seal the Tri-force away in the golden land in order to protect it. Only those with truth of spirit and heart of courage may enter the Sacred Realm and gaze upon the divine essence of the goddesses."

"Truth of spirit… heart of courage?" Naruto questioned as Kurama nodded.

"Yes. You have the heart of courage, Naruto," Kurama confirmed confidently. "As for truth of spirit, that remains to be seen. The Tri-force only judged you on the absolute truth of your spirit, not whether it is good or evil; benevolent or malevolent. If you accept who and what you truly are, whether dark or light, the Tri-force will not reject you. But in all honesty, the dark is more tempting."

"No! Don't listen to him," Navi called out, realizing Kurama was trying to sway the blond to his side again. She pushed Kurama out the way before Naruto as he was thinking to himself. "You must be the hero of light!"

"Pfft… Hero of light is a goody idiot who doesn't think for themselves. They all followed the preset path lay out before them without a sense of self and want. Is a person truly called a hero if their destiny was not of their own making? Is that what you want?" Kurama questioned.

Kurama then pushed Navi out the way. "Be the hero of darkness, and mold your own path and destiny by your own hand. You don't need to listen to what other people telling you want to do! You do whatever you want, whenever you want! Take whatever you want! Isn't that more fun?"

"Umm… Navi, I'm going to go with Kurama since it sounds much better," Naruto admitted, causing Navi to sob. "Eh… cheer up… I'm still going to be a hero though. Isn't that good enough?"

"A hero for the dark side, hahaha," Kurama added.

"Noooo! How is that different from the evil man?" Navi refused to accept it. She then hovered around Zelda and landed on the girl's hand. "Please tell him, Princess."

"Naruto. I think you should be the hero of light," Zelda said with a heartwarming smile. "I would love it if you're a hero that the land wanted; a beacon of light, watching over the people and help those in need. I believed you can become someone like that since you're a good person."

"… Alright! I'm going to be a hero of light!" Naruto cheered, lifting his **_sword_** in **_skyward_** as light erupted and expunged the surrounding darkness. The sword continued to glow brightly afterward.

"It seems like appealing to logic doesn't work when Princess Zelda is around," Kurama muttered lowly, seeing how Zelda could have convert Naruto to her side with something simple as a smile. "Hmmm… what to do? What to do? Oh well, I will try something else later."

"Yay!" Navi flew around the Zelda with renewed vigor. "Please stay with us forever. Only you can stop Kurama from corrupting his mind!"

Kurama sighed as he watched the white fairy. "Anyway, we should hurry out of this place to find the other two spiritual stones before Ganondorf does. Water and Fire… I don't know where they are, but I'm sure Princess Zelda do."

"I'm afraid I don't know where the spiritual stone of water is, but I have heard the spiritual stone of fire is kept by the chief Goron Darunia of Death Mountain."

"Death Mountain!?" Naruto questioned with a shocked expression as he walked ahead with the glowing blade. "Why can't that place be called Fire Mountain? Wouldn't that makes more sense even if the name is redundant?"

They continued to chat about various things while navigating upward across spiral platforms and staircases that were long abandoned. Kurama was hovering ahead to make sure there was no hidden danger. Zelda followed Naruto closely behind with Navi. All four of them reached the end of the path with a deep chasm of blackness. Naruto threw a rock into it and tried to listen for the sounds. Minutes went by, no sound came.

"Is it bottomless?" Naruto asked, throwing another piece down.

"There must be an end somewhere," Zelda answered while Navi floated across the wide gap and noted there was another ledge on the other side. She returned to the duo hastily.

"Hey! Hey! Listen," Navi called out, but Naruto just stared at her.

"You don't need to say that, Navi," Naruto said. "We always are listening to you so you can get to the point without calling for our attention? It's kind of annoying when you do that."

"I'm sorry," Navi apologized. "There's something on the other side. It could be a way out, but how do you get over there? Is there any way you can shoot some sort of hook with rope over and create a lifeline?"

"You mean a**_ hookshot_**?" Kurama questioned skeptically as Navi nodded at the new name.

Kurama snorted. "I don't think that is necessary. Naruto, just throw your sword over and teleport directly to it."

"Oh yeah," Naruto said and threw the Hiraishin blade across the gap. It bounced against the wall and fall into the chasm below. The sword then teleported back into his hand as he smiled crookedly. "Woops, let me try again."

Naruto growled in frustration after several failed attempts. The sword either bounced off the wall, impaling too high up or fall of the short ledge. "I'm going to get it, just wait!"

"I know you will. Just calm yourself and take your time," Zelda advised as she examined the other side which each attempt. "How about you throw it upward and let it fall downward? Would that help?"

"Oh yeah," Naruto muttered and tried to do that. After a couple more tries, the sword embedded deep into to ground on the other side of the chasm. "That was much easier."

"Don't forget about the Princess, Naru," Navi pointed out. Naruto averted his eyes slightly away and outstretched a hand to her. Zelda smiled and took it as they both teleport toward the sword. Navi didn't need to piggy back them as she flew across the gap along with Kurama.

Kurama then drifted ahead into a rather large room with various objects lying around, but no way out.

"Hmm… a dead end?" Kurama questioned as he scanned around the room in full. Naruto did the same, but there was nothing of interest along the wall. He also slashed up a few tall bushes to find some rupees hidden within. He raised a brow when seeing them before pocketing them into the pouch that Impa had given him. Navi checked a few clay pots and knocked one over, causing a bomb to fall out of it.

"Hey! Hey!" Navi called out. "Maybe we can use this for something!"

Naruto held the explosive in his hand while Zelda examined the wall carefully. She knocked on them to make sure they were solid, but found a hollowed section.

"I think there an opening behind this wall," Zelda pointed out as Kurama hovered near it. There as a small crack near the bottom as he squeezed through before returning back out.

"There's a tunnel on the other side, but this wall is fairly thick," Kurama said. "Use the bomb to destroy it so we can be on our way."

"Are you sure? Wouldn't that cause a cave in?" Naruto asked as he held up the bomb. The sword was glowing brightly with fire on his other hand so he could light the fuse.

"Hmm… there is a chance of that happening," Kurama said as he looked around the ceiling. "Alright, I think it's time to teach you **_Rasengan_** so you can destroy the wall with a sphere of wind instead. Bomb is bad, and you likely hurt yourself most of the time. It's also bulky to carry around like a shield."

"Rasengan?"

"It's just a name of a technique. You have master the basic usage of wind. In a more advance level, you can swirl wind at the tip of your sword for various purpose. You can expand it to shred through certain obstacles in your way."

"Oh, cool. How do I do it?" Naruto asked as Kurama explained further. On the other hand, Zelda and Navi checked the room for anything else of interest. She found a beautiful patterned bow with golden strings beneath the debris. It looked priceless as she examined in detail while Navi uncovered some arrows for her to practice with.

Kurama pondered how such a powerful weapon was left in such a place, but made nothing more of it at the time.

"Lucky we keep all this from before or we'll be starving right now," Naruto claimed as he shared around the foods he had in his satchel. Kurama said he didn't need any and gloated about his ability to go for a long time without any sustenance, putting Navi down more.

"Now, you're my savior," Zelda complimented and giggled.

"I'm not! You're still the one who brought it, and I'm just keeping it warm for you," Naruto answered sheepishly. He continued when they finished eating. "Zelda… You're really good with a bow. Do you know how to use a sword?"

"Father said a princess should not hold a blade, but Impa, my maid and guardian, taught me how to use a bow. She's the person that was looking for me earlier today. I hope he didn't do anything to her."

"That scary lady? I don't think anyone want to mess with her," Naruto said whhile sweat-dropped. He had sent the woman on a fool errand so she might be furious at him. "Umm… Zelda. Do you want to learn how to use a sword? You can use mine to practice. Here."

"When did you become good enough to teach another person?" Kurama deadpanned, but Naruto ignored the comment since he believed he was adequate enough. Zelda nodded excitedly and practiced with the sword while Naruto and Kurama gave pointers every now and then. Time flew by quickly when they were having fun. Eventually, Zelda and Naruto fell asleep next to each other. While the room they were in was dark and spooky, it provided safety for both children.

Naruto wakened when heard the melody played in the room. He blinked and rubbed his eyes wearily while the tune echoed around the room. He waited until she finished playing to speak up. "Is that?"

"It's the song of time, passed down from my mother," Zelda answered. "You taught me how to use a sword. I will teach you it."

"Is that alright? Isn't that the song to unseal the Sacred Realm?"

"Yes, but it's a lovely song that I want to share with others, and I believed you won't use it for something like that," Zelda said confidently.

Naruto nodded and took out his own ocarina. He began to learn the song of time along with several others taught by Zelda including her own lullaby. Kurama opened his eyes before smiled approvingly that the boy had learn the necessary piece of music. They practice swordplay along with archery afterward while another day went by, then another.

"We can't stay here forever, Princess. What about the Kingdom?" Navi pointed out, reminding the two blond-haired kids of their missions. They seemingly had forgotten about it.

"Oh right," Naruto mumbled and moved toward the wall. He formed a small spherical orb of wind at its tip and pressed the sword into the wall, allowing the sphere to expand and shred out a path. Strange creatures from beyond growled loudly as Naruto and Zelda flinched. "There's monster there!"

"So? Kill it," Kurama said lazily. "You have a sword in your hand don't you? Use it!"

"But what about her?" Naruto asked, but an arrow sailed over his shoulder and pierced one of the creatures that looked overgrown lizard with spiky rock protruding from its back.

"Aim for the mouth, Princess. It's their weakness," Navi advised as several more arrows from the girl and hits their marks.

"Her? Look like she can handle herself. Well? Are you going to let her outshined you?" Kurama asked while Navi lighted the path and targets.

"No way! Let see who kills more!" Naruto called out and charged forward. Flames wrapped around his sword as he slashed and ignited the creatures. It didn't take long for the both of them to defeat all the monsters in sight. Afterward, Navi was helping retrieving the arrows while Naruto checked if the dead creatures were editable or not.

They eventually made into a room with numerous large stone blocks scattered around. Naruto pushed a few to check if he could while Zelda examined the room with Navi. She noticed a locked door at the other end and several squares on the ground in the middle. They were the same size as the cubes Naruto pushing around.

"You should push them into here to open the door?" Navi suggested as Zelda nodded. Both kids pushed all the blocks into the holes before looking around to see anything had changed.

"… Maybe you didn't put them in correct order?" Navi questioned as she noticed some blocks was patterned differently. Naruto didn't feel like dragging them out and check which block should go with which hole while Zelda examined the puzzle closely.

"Why don't you just slash through the door instead of trying to solve this puzzle," Kurama suggested.

"Yeah, I'm going to go with him, Navi," Naruto said and blasted through the lock door his sword. Zelda giggled and followed him behind. After solving half a dozen more rooms by just breaking through the door without bothering with the puzzles, they came across very steep wall with a narrow opening high up. Naruto tried to jump to it, but he couldn't get high enough. He threw his sword up, but couldn't get the right angle.

Navi noticed the vines growing to the side along with Zelda while Naruto kept trying. "Naru! Hey! You can use this to climb up instead."

Zelda tugged the thick vine to make sure it was strong enough as Naruto approached her. Kurama was floating ahead initially, but returned to Naruto's side quickly.

"Let the Princess climb up first," Kurama whispered to Naruto.

"Huh? But what if there's dangerous stuff up there," Naruto replied.

"Trust me, you will see something interesting," Kurama said lecherously.

"Umm… okay?"

Zelda began to climb up first as Naruto stared up at her from the ground. His eyes bulged out before his cheeks turned deep shade of red. He immediately looked away as Kurama snickered victoriously.

Sadly, the vines snapped under her weight even though she wasn't high up. Zeda fell down and used Naruto as cushion since he wasn't paying attention enough to catch her.

"Ah… I'm so sorry. Are you hurt, Naruto?" Zelda asked after stepping herself off the groaning blond. She was brushing her dress while Naruto stared at it. He then looked up at the cute girl's face before rubbing his nose to make sure he wasn't bleeding.

"Hahaha, that's what happened when you're not looking! I told you to look, didn't I?" Kurama called out as Navi stared at him suspiciously. "What? If he was paying attention to the princess, then he would have caught her."

"Yeah… But I'm okay, you're pretty light, Zelda," Naruto answered the princess while averting his eyes in shame. Once he back on his feet, he stared up the vertical wall while thinking of another way up. "How do we get up there, Kurama?"

"Stuck already? Fine, you can just walk up it," Kurama answered. "Just concentrate your energy to your feet so it glue onto the wall."

"I can do that?"

"I didn't mention it before? It supposes to be the first thing you learn," Kurama muttered. "Oh well, let's learn it now then."

It didn't take long for Naruto to understand the concept. He failed every now and then, crashing into the ground before Zelda helped him up with some word of encouragements. Some of the times he failed on purpose just so she would help him up.

"Okay, stop messing around, you're just blatantly faking it now," Kurama whispered lowly, causing Naruto to look shyly away. "Don't worry. The next part is a lot more fun. Who do you think will carry her all the way up?"

Naruto's eyes widened as he realized the implication.

"Zelda, I think I got the hang of it," Naruto said as he stood next to her. She gasped in surprise as he lifted her in a bridal style and looked up at the wall.

"Wait, I don't think this is necessary," Zelda said as Naruto's mind was elsewhere. With a bright smile, he walked up the wall, causing her to hold onto him tightly.

The shadowy orb orbited around the couple before Navi bumped it to the side.

"You planned this didn't you?" Navi asked.

"I don't know what you're talking about. It just happened you know," Kurama answered. "This is the only way to get up. If Princess Zelda doesn't hold tightly onto Naruto then she might fall off and hurt herself."

Kurama then narrowed his eyes at the fairy. "Hmmm… don't tell me you're jealous?"

"I'm not jealous! Why would I be?" Navi called out as Kurama snickered.

"Right, I believe you," Kurama responded and flew upward slowly. "They look cute together, so let them be. Be a guardian fairy like you're supposed to be. Guide him to the light while I do the same, but to the dark side instead. Hahahaha…"

Navi sighed and didn't bother to argue with the dark entity anymore. She followed the two blonds as they reached the top. Naruto continued walking forward slowly with Zelda tightly in his hands while she held onto him.

"Shouldn't you put the princess down, Naru?" Navi asked, but neither of them heard her. There was some illumination shining ahead as she made out the dangerous liquid on the floor. Naruto didn't seem to notice as he walked right toward it. "Wait, that's lava! Stop!"

To her shock, the blond just walked on top of it like it was a solid ground all the way to the other side.

"…?"

"Your concern is not necessary," Kurama pointed out. "He can walk across any surface with that ability, including water and lava. Although, I thought the heat would snap him out of his dream state."

A loud roar from a titanic beast didn't even faze the boy as he walked passed it. The creature stared at him confusingly before sucking in massive amount of air and stones, igniting them in its gut and blasting at the blond. Naruto groaned in pain as he was flung forward along with Zelda. They finally snapped out of their dream-like state.

Dragon King Dodongo roared, curling itself into a boulder and rolling forward. Naruto blinked as he pulled himself up while Zelda shook her head to clear her mind. She pondered what just came over her while she was being carried like that.

Naruto gripped his sword rightly, causing wind to wrap around it mass. He roared angrily. "You bastard, I was having a good time, and you just have to go and ruin it!"

A powerful wind blade split the boulder in half through the center. The invisible blade continued onward, slamming into the wall and cutting through the mountain with little difficulty. Once outside, it flew across the land for several kilometers before losing enough momentum to dissipate.

Naruto groaned and collapsed forward onto the ground while Navi and Zelda couldn't believe the power behind that attack.

"You used too much power," Kurama scolded. "You could have killed that thing a hundred times over with that attack."

"I did? I was just so pissed at it for waking me up," Naruto mumbled and rolled to the side so he was facing up. Zelda crouched down to his side and patted him on the chest for the job well done. They stayed like that until a bunch of rock-like creatures entered the lava chamber.

"More enemies?" Naruto questioned as he lifted up his sword toward them. "I can take you all on!"

"Wait, they are the Gorons, the keeper of the spiritual stone of fire," Zelda revealed. She approached them and bowed courtly at what appeared to be their leader. "I am Princess Zelda of Hyrule. Please forgive us for trespassing into your home, but we didn't know where we were."

"Princess Zelda… ah, no, it is an honor to meet you in person," Darunia, the chief, greeted politely while his people was checking the only carcass in the room. "Did you defeat the Giant Dragon King Dogondo?"

Zelda shook her head and pointed at the true hero, who was still groaning on the ground since Zelda was not by his side anymore. Navi was pouncing on top of him in order to get him up while Kurama hovered about.

"This little pipsqueak defeated Dogondo?" Darunia questioned as Zelda confirmed. "Well, I thank you for doing so. You have saved my people from certain doom. If there is anything you want and within my power to do so, you only need to ask."

"Really? Anything huh? Okay, give me all the precious stones you mined in the mountains," Naruto called out as his eyes sparkled. "There must be like a mountain worth of gold isn't there? You don't need them, so gimme gimme!"

"Naruto. Even if they could, how are you going to carry all that money around?" Zelda asked. He thought for a bit and looked away from her in shame. She smiled and faced the leader of the Goron again. "I only wish to see the spiritual stone of fire?"

"You too, Princess?" Darunia asked with a frown. "I'm afraid I cannot abide by your request. Not too long ago, a person named Ganondorf stopped by here and ordered me to hand over the spiritual stone of fire. I refused then, but the Giant Dragon King Dogondo, who co-existed with us for a long time, began to be very hostile and attacking us on sight. I think that man had something to do with it."

Darunia continued with a sigh. "He came back a day ago with a large amount of Hylian Knights with him, demanding to search the area for the missing princess under the order of the King. He confiscated the spiritual stone from me then, and I could not refuse without putting my own people in danger."

"No… that can't be," Zelda called out in shock. "Why would the Knights help him?"

"Hmm… it looks like Ganondorf is using the whole situation to his advantage," Kurama muttered, looking down at Naruto from above. "By taking the Princess Zelda with you, he has a reason to label you as a criminal and uses the pretense of finding her to acquire the rest of the stones. He has two now and likely the last one as well. I'm sure he knows where the spiritual stone of water is."

"No… no… Is there no way to stop him?" Zelda asked with visible shakiness. "I must return home… and tell my father. Even if he doesn't believe me, I have to try."

"You must not," Naruto called out, sitting up straight while Navi hovered around him. "If the Knight of Hylians is under his control then your father might trust him explicitly. Your words against his, and you said your father didn't believe you before so why should he now?"

Naruto then remembered the vision where she was wounded. She was much older then and more beautiful than ever. "But if you want to go then I will go with you, Zelda. I will protect you!"

"It won't work out," Kurama added his opinion. "As you are right now, he can kill the princess before she could even reach the King. He then can claim that you did it. Even if you were to fight him, you will most likely be defeated. Listen to me and be patience. As long as he doesn't have the Ocarina of Time, he cannot achieve his goal even if he has all three stones in his possessions. They are dead weight without the key. Since the Gorons are still here and safe, I don't think he wants to create chaos right now."

It took a moment for Naruto to nod in understand. He stood up straight and looked at the sword before sheathing it on his back. His expression sharpened as he paid attention to the shadowy orb. "Teach me the last three elements so I can beat up that stupid guy!"

"So you're taking this hero of light thing seriously huh… very well," Kurama responded and flew around the blond. He then floated toward the leader of the Gorons. "Is there a place around here where we can train?"

"There isn't, but I can make one for you to use," Darunia answered thoughtfully. He then eyed the blond-haired girl near him. "What about you, Princess Zelda? Do you wish to stay here with your friend?"

"Trust me, I promise I will stop him," Naruto called out with pride. Zelda decided to trust him. Several days went by as Naruto trained in how to manipulate the earth with his sword and power. Zelda didn't waste time either and practiced her bow. She became proficient at the art of archery.

"If you guys eat rocks, why are you starving?" Kurama asked, looking around the carven. Navi was with him while Naruto was sparing with Zelda outside. "Isn't everything around here is made of the stuff…?"

"It's not simple, Kurama," Darunia said while drowsing off. "We can eat rocks, but if there no nutritious value in them, we will still starve no matter how much we eat that. We need the one deep within the mountain. Dogondo has been defeated thanked to Naruto's heroism, my people can survive now."

"Heroism huh," Kurama muttered and looked at Navi, who sighed. "I don't think that's what happe – someone with ill intention is here. Navi, go warn Naruto."

"Naru! Be careful, someone bad is here," Navi called out at the duo when she left the cave. Naruto and Zelda stopped what they were doing as they looked around. A person emerged from shadow, looking at them.

"It's the scary lady!" Naruto pointed accusingly.

"Impa!" Zelda called and approached the woman, but Naruto pulled her back. His expression became sharper as Impa closed the distance.

"Princess Zelda… so you're here," Impa said with a smile. "I thought I would never see you again. The King had found out about Ganondorf's treachery and the circumstances of your abduction. He truly wishes to see you again so please return home with me."

"Father did?" Zelda questioned as Impa nodded slowly.

"Is he really?" Naruto questioned, pointing his sword at the woman while holding Zelda's hand. "Why don't I believe you at all? How did you find us?"

"Please, Princess," Impa said as her face shifted. "You must return home… don't… return…"

Impa held her head in discomfort as the blood gemstone around her neck glowed brightly. She then glared at the Naruto as she drawn her sword.

"You… you are too dangerous to be left alone," Impa declared. Her eyes shifted just before she vanished from view. Naruto immediately reacted and blocked the blade strike from his blind spot. He immediately grabbed Zelda and gained some distance away from the woman.

She lurched forward, but a wall of stone erupted from the ground, blocking her path. She flipped and jumped on top of them and looking down at the two kids.

"Impa, Stop! What has happened to you?" Zelda beseeched while Naruto readied himself, shielding the princess.

"Run… away… Princess," Impa muttered, holding her head in pain again. "He has total control of the court… I'm also under his… please… run."

Impa lurched forward as Naruto tried to parry her relentless strikes. She was faster than he'd expected as she pushed him back until he was against the wall. With a magical blast coming from her hand, the stone wall was ripped apart while Naruto rolled to the side. Impa tried to follow on, but found her legs were sinking into the earth. The ground around the embedded blade was behaving like quicksand. Once deep enough, the sword vanished right before her eyes while the ground solidified again.

With the Hiraishin Blade in his hand, he manipulated the wind for a powerful release, but Zelda stopped him from doing a killing strike by blocking his path. "Um… what are you doing?"

"Impa is an important person, so please don't kill her," Zelda implored, but Naruto narrowed his eyes. With great hesitation, he lowered his sword, but Impa smashed the ground with her magic and pulled herself out, standing behind Zelda.

"Stop it, Impa! You don't need to fight him," Zelda called out, but Impa growled while the crimson jewel glowed brightly. She managed to grab Zelda as Naruto threw the sword at her. He teleport to it and did a slash around the woman's neck, shattering the mind controlling artifact. Unfortunately, the slash he did was too powerful.

"Noooooo!" Zelda called out as Impa held her neck as blood oozing between her fingers. Using magic, she managed to stop the flow as she dropped Zelda to the ground and fell to her knees.

"I'm…. I'm… sorry. It was the only way," Naruto muttered guilty as he landed back on the ground. Impa looked at the boy with a smile while Zelda was in a panic.

"You're the one from before," Impa said with a clear mind. "I can see why Ganondorf wanted to kill you before you matured. Good… I will leave the Princess in your care."

"No, you can't die, Impa, you can't die!" Zelda implored, but Impa patted her on the head with the untainted hand.

"It's too late. I don't blame him and you shouldn't either. Now that the artifact is destroyed, Ganondorf will know his control over me has severed," Impa warned while the area around them rippled with magic. "He is coming to investigate so you must not be here. The entire Kingdom is under his control right now. He wished to gain access to the Sacred Realm. You must not allow him to do so."

"No, Impa, don't leave me!" Zelda called out as water pooled around her eyes.

Naruto noticed many portals began to open while a shadowy orb flew toward him.

"Naruto, there are many coming here right now along with their leader," Kurama warned as he sensed the dark magic rippling in the air. "Even if you could fight him one on one, there's no guarantee you will win such confrontation."

"I… I don't' want to keep running! I ran once! I'm not doing it again!" Naruto retorted as winds and flames wrapped around the blade in his hand, readying to attack whatever came from the portal.

"Listen to me. It is not time for you to fight him. Do you remember what I've told you about his true nature? Killing him here will not end the cycle. Wait until the time is right," Kurama whispered.

Naruto took a few seconds to give a sigh. He then looked at the horizon and threw the blade in his hand with as much power he could muster. The hiraishin blade flew across the land of Hyrule like a speeding comet into the distance as he turned around and grabbed Zelda. The girl screamed and tried to hold onto Impa.

"I'm sorry, Zelda, but we have to go," Naruto said as she tried to break out of his hands. "You can hate me later, but I have to protect you!"

"Navi!" He called the white fairy to him. Once Navi was within the palm of his hand, he vanished along with sobbing Zelda, leaving the dying Impa behind.

Ganondorf materialized from the portal along with several sorcerers and monstrosity. He noticed Impa on the ground before looking around the area.

"The Princess was here," one of the two hags said. Both were dressed in black robes with white Gerudo patterns near the hems, with obi-like around their waist. The only clear distinction between them was their headband they adorned. The powerful witches, Ganondorf's surrogate mothers, had lived for centuries and knew great amount of things.

"Most unfortunately, we missed her only narrowly," the other one said. "What about the girl? Put her out of her misery?"

"No," Ganondorf said after something within his dark corner of his mind spoke to him. The voice of the ancient evil, the source of all monsters, as the world once knew it as **_Demise_**. "It's not yet time for her to die. There is more than one way to enter the Sacred Realm. The seal was created by the Sages, and by their blood, it will be broken."

Meanwhile, Naruto, Zelda and two fairies materialized amidst a large spooky forest. Zelda collapsed to her knees in tears while Navi tried to comfort her. Naruto tightened his grip, pulling the blade out from the earth before sheathing it on his back.

"I'm really sorry… Zelda," Naruto apologized sincerely while crouching to the blond-haired girl's side. "I didn't mean it. I just wanted to destroy the mind controlling thing around her neck, but I used too much strength in the swing."

"I… I… know," Zelda murmured while clearing her tears as much as she could. "It's not your fault, but I want to be alone for now."

Naruto nodded slowly and stood up. He looked around the murky area, examining the surrounding ancient trees while shivering slightly.

"Is it kind of cold here?" Naruto questioned, taking several steps away from Zelda in order to give her some privacy before blinking. He turned around to the girl again. "Do you feel a bit strange around here… huh? Weren't you supposed to be over here instead?"

Zelda was not where she supposed to be since she would be directly in front of him when he turned around. Instead, she was far to his right, and she was still on the ground with Navi and Kurama hovering nearby.

"No, why did you say that?" Kurama asked then floated around the area for a brief examination. His eyes widened in panic before flying to Naruto in haste. "Naruto. Stop moving about and listen. This wood is charmed. All the directions are warped. What you see in front of you might not actually be in front or as close as you perceive it. Stay in sight of each other or you will be separated and lost!"

Naruto understood immediately and made haste toward Zelda again.

"I can't leave you alone right now," Naruto apologized as Zelda nodded. She also heard the explanation and knew where they were; the lost woods. Those that were lost in this place became something else entirely.

"If this place is that dangerous, we should leave immediately," Navi suggested.

Naruto raised a brow and scratched his cheek as a few thoughts went through his mind. He then looked at the shadowy orb by his side. "What do you think, Kurama?"

Kurama paused for a few moments. "Since the lingering magic here is powerful to warp even my own perception, I think it's a good place to stay put for now. As long as we stick closely together then there won't be any problem. It's not like we're actually lost. Just don't wander too far from each other unless it's absolute necessary."

"That's what I thought," Naruto added his opinion. "Ganondorf will have a hard time finding us. I could train here until I'm strong enough to take him and his minions down once and for all."

He then looked at Zelda. "Err… I mean if Zelda want to stay, otherwise we will find somewhere better."

"I don't know what to do, or what to think," Zelda muttered. She then lifted her head up to see the blond boy. "But I know I can trust you. If you think you can defeat Ganondorf by staying here and train, then I will help you in any way I can."

"Since Navi's opinion doesn't matter in any way, I will get you started how to manipulate water so you don't die of thirst," Kurama said nonchalantly. "By the way, you can use earth manipulation to grow fruits and vegetables."

"Oh… since we don't know how long this will take, we should build a place to sleep as well," Naruto pointed out excitedly. It felt like camping to him. Zelda smiled at his cheerfulness while Navi fumed at Kurama for insulting her again.

As the four were discussing what they were going to do, a strange kid with an evil mask watched them from afar. The boy tilted his head mischievously, thinking of what kind of tricks to play on them.

**XxXxX**

Beautiful tunes could be heard to those that were lost, propagating along the air and between all the ancient trees. Following the melody, one would come across a small hut made of woods and stones with a relatively large garden filled with all kind of vegetables. The music stopped when a twelve year old blond boy placed down his ocarina.

Naruto looked skyward to see the rays radiating upon him. He hadn't left the lost woods in almost two years even though he had mastered the five elements completely. It wasn't that he couldn't leave; he simply didn't want to go anywhere at the moment.

"Hey! Naru!" Navi called out from the window. "Lunch is ready! Hurry!"

"Coming," Naruto acknowledged as he jumped through the opened window. He landed and rolled across the floor before jumping up into the air and missed the chair completely. He groaned and rubbed his bottom when standing up again. "Did someone move my chair?"

Zelda, wearing a simple dress with her golden hair braided on one side, giggled at the blond's antic while he dragged another chair across the room. He then sat down and looked at his wooden plate before pushing some stuffs on it around with a fork.

Navi left the room and hovered outside. She waited for Kurama, who was somewhere deep in the woods. The shadowy entity had got used to the warp perception of the area, thus allowing him to wander around freely without losing his way. Once in a while, Kurama also brought back news from around Hyrule.

"Is it still bad?" Zelda asked while watching the boy played around with his food.

"No, it's really good. The best," Naruto assured when he looked up at her. He then started digging in and swallowing each mouthful as fast as he could. Once done, he smiled wildly at her. "See, I couldn't wait to finish it."

"Do you want second then?" Zelda asked as Naruto blinked.

Naruto nodded hesitantly before sweat-dropping at another huge plate in front of him. "Zelda. Isn't this is a lot?"

"Is it? I think you need to eat more so you have more energy to train, Naruto," Zelda replied. "Since you haven't mastered those skills even after this much time, I will start doubling your rations each day until you do."

"Eh? No, you don't need to. I'm almost there, honestly," Naruto said with a gulp.

"You said that a month ago, and the month before that," Zelda said with a smile as she picked up the bow by the table. "You have been saying the same thing for some times now."

"I think it's time I test your skill for myself," Zelda said with a smile while she drawn her bow. "Don't die now."

"I'm…. I'm… sorry," Naruto apologized desperately while his hands in praying posture in front of the Princess. "Please don't kill me. I still got so much to live for!"

Zelda giggled before her eyes sharpened. "Naruto."

"Yeah, I know," he responded as a sword teleported into his hand. He threw it out the opened window, impaling a monstrous creature right in the chest. The demonic skeletal entity growled at him before breaking apart into a heap. The earth rumbled as fissure ran across the ground. More demonic entities emerged from beneath, groaning and moaning. There were hundreds of them surrounding the small house.

"Damn, I want to enjoy this kind of life a little longer. Just another reason on my list to why I should kill your stupid master," Naruto declared as the sword in his hand glowed brightly. He jumped up in the air and slamming the blade into the ground as ice erupted outward, encasing dozens of the monsters. Zelda spun her golden bow and drawn the golden string, materializing several golden arrows. Letting the string go, they flew forward, piecing through several monsters each before more came forth.

* * *

**Author Notes: **

**_Trouble in Termina _**is not available within this story since this is Ocarina of Time, and that story is like a side story. That whole adventure helps Naruto mastered more skills with Hiraishin Blade while saving Zelda (she got kidnapped by Majora). I might write it later on, for now, I want to keep moving with the story.


	4. Fall of a Hero

**The Hero of Time** (NarutoxZelda)

**Disclaimer:** This story is fiction. All the characters, names and places belong to their respective owners.

* * *

**=[Fall of a Hero]=**

"It seems that there is more than one way to get into the Sacred Realm," Kurama stated darkly while hovering around the two blonds and one fairy. The ground around the group was littered with battle scars and carcasses. Naruto and Zelda had made short work of the demonic creatures that came forth from the earth, but they all knew this was the first of many assaults.

"Of course there is," Naruto snorted while examining his sword before sheathing it on his back. He then brushed his reddish attire, the Goron Tunic, with a yawn. "Let me guess. This other way has something to do with Zelda, right?"

Zelda didn't appeared surprise while Navi landed in her hand. Everything that had happened in the history of Hyrule had something to do with her, or specifically to do with Princess named Zelda. Kurama had been going in and out of Lost Woods for the past year, relaying what had happened around the lands. She learnt her father was still alive, but more or less a hostage under Ganondorf, who was still looking for another way to enter the Sacred Realm.

"Yes. Without the Ocarina of Time, he can't unseal the portal even if he has all three of the spiritual stones in his possession," Kurama reminded them. "Since the barrier was erected long ago by the Seven Sages, it doesn't take a genius to know that the Seven Sages can undo it. So while you two were hiding out here and playing family, Ganondorf had been busy. He searched out those descended from the Sages. From what I can tell, he'd captured six of the seven sages, but the last one still eluded him."

"Who's the seventh Sage?" Navi asked.

"It's me, Navi," Zelda answered weakly while Naruto rolled his eyes. He'd already speculated as much so he sat down by her side with another yawn. He then brushed his untamed golden hair back as he no longer wore the hat.

"Looks like we need to find another place to stay," Naruto said while Zelda eyed him. "What? They found where you are now, and they're going to keep coming until they capture you. It's either that or going back to Hyrule Castle to confront him while he uses the whole town as hostages. Right now, he doesn't seem to do anything more than order them around."

Zelda's eyes saddened at the suggestion since she wanted to free her father and people from the evil clutches of Ganondorf and his minions. She hesitated, not because the inevitable battle however. It was because her duty coming in conflict with her own desire. She couldn't help but wanting to spend more time with the person she liked somewhere secluded away from the problem of the world. She wished she was just a normal girl, going on a grand adventure with him without a care. It was a selfish wish.

"Where do you think we should go, Naruto?" Zelda asked weakly, swallowing the guilt.

"Where do you want to go?" Naruto answered almost immediately. "I'm fine anywhere as long as your there with me."

"How about across the ocean to a place no one has been to before?" Navi suggested. "If no one can find you, then the Sacred Realm is safe."

Kurama sighed and speak up. "Sorry to burst your bubble, but running away right now will do more harm than good. Even if you can somehow hid from him for the rest of your life, he will claim the Tri-force soon enough. The King, Zelda's father, can be used as a substitute as the seventh Sages in place of her. It might not work since Zelda is the true Sage, but in conjunction with the spiritual stones, the chance of success is almost certain. Besides, there might be more ways to get in that we don't know yet."

"Damn," Naruto muttered.

"Since you two beat up the goons he sent so easily, he probably realized it will be very difficult capture the Princess or take her Ocarina," Kurama continued. "If he smart, he might just go with the backup plan instead. He has all he needed already. If it fails, he could always return to hunting down you two."

"Is it the only way?" Zelda questioned sadly. "Ganondorf already have Hyrule under his control, so why does he still want the Tri-force? Is that not enough?"

"Those that have powers desire for more powers. Hyrule was just the beginning. He wants to rule the entire world," Kurama stated flatly. "Actually, things around the realm have changed since your escape from Death Mountain. The civilian populations are dissatisfied with the way things are and had voiced their opinions on several occasions. Knights that are not being mind-controlled have seen what he is for themselves, but they couldn't do anything about it since they feared for the safety of their King. They hoped someone would stand up to the tyrant and show them the way. If the missing Princess returned to them now, they will rally behind her."

"They will?" Zelda asked while Kurama orbited around them.

"Yes, Princess," Navi answered. "I'm sure they will."

"What she said," Kurama added before landing on top of Naruto's head. "If you return now, there is a good chance that you can put an end to Ganondorf's reign."

"That's only if Zelda made it there in one piece," Naruto said and gripped the princess's hand firmly. He then formed a smile while looking at her. "Okay. I make up my mind. I will help return you to your home safe and sound. If they don't accept you, then I will fight alongside with you until the very end. I… umm… promised that I would."

"Naruto," Zelda muttered softly while clenching her hand around his, looking directly at him. Only the natural sounds coming from the surrounding woods could be heard as the girl and boy stared deeply into each other's eyes, seeing something each had never seen before.

"Ahem," Kurama broke the prolonged silence. "As much as I want to see you two playing staring contest with each other all day, we should get going before more of the goons show up. Pack light and only the necessary."

"Yeah… Sorry, I kind of lost in the moment," Naruto muttered and helped Zelda up. They return back into the small comfy home they literally built in the last couple of years from scratch. It didn't take them long to pack the necessarily for the road ahead. Once done and outside again, they both looked at their small home and remembered the fun time they shared.

"Enough already," Kurama called out as he morphed into a shadowy mare. "You can return here again when the villain is defeated. It's not like it's going anywhere. Get on already. Who is in front?"

"Zelda?" Naruto asked as she nodded. He lifted her up on the horse since Kurama didn't bother to. He then mounted behind her while Navi sat on the creature's head. "Okay, let's go kick his ass quickly!"

"Right. Hold on tight!" Kurama warned as he galloped forward with impressive speed. The forest was vast so it will take them a few minutes to reach the open plain.

"So who are the Sages?" Naruto asked out of curiosity while his arms wrapped tightly around Zelda's waist from behind. She looked down at his hands before returning her eyes to the front again.

"… I've only heard of them mentioned in passing, so I don't know exactly who they are. I only know that I am descended from one of the Sages," Zelda answered as she looked at the ancient trees passing her by. "The Temple of Time was built by the old Sages to protect the golden land from evil. It is said that at the center of the Sacred Realm lies The Temple of Light, where the Sage of Light lived. It is also the place where the Tri-force resided."

"Huh? If the Sage of Light is inside the Sacred Realm, then how did Ganondorf capture him? Kurama said he has six of the seven, right?"

Kurama let out a chuckle. "So you didn't notice the strange owl that was following you since you left the forest? It was an animal form taken by the Sage of Light, but he got caught when he got clumsy and now sealed in a crystal along with five others. In fact, you actually already met most of Sages."

"I did? Really? When?" Naruto questioned skeptically.

"The reason is because they didn't appear to be Sages when you met them. Sages needed to be awakened," Kurama revealed. "Anyway, the first one you came across is the Sage of Forest, your childhood friend, Saira. You still remember her don't you? She's the one who gave you your ocarina."

"W-what!?" Naruto was shocked. "Is she okay? That bastard, how dare he kidnap Saira! I'm not going to forgive him if anything happens to her!"

"Saira was the one who taught you your first song, right?" Zelda questioned. "She sounds like someone important to you. Do you like her?"

"Yeah, but she's just a friend I used to know. There is nothing between us, I swear," Naruto said with a sweat-dropped while tightened his hand around her waist and scoot closer to her. "Anyway, who are the rest?"

"I have mentioned that the Sage of Light is the owl. The Sage of Fire is chief of the Gorons, Darunia. You still remember him right? He was the one who gave you a new set of clothing. Red is a better color than green in my opinion," Kurama said as Naruto nodded.

"Is there something wrong?" Zelda asked, seeing how the mare stopped talking abruptly.

"No… I guess you will find out eventually, Princess," Kurama said. "The Sage of Shadow is Impa, your guardian."

"Impa… then that mean."

"Yes, she's still alive, but sealed in a crystal along with the rest. If you two defeat Ganondorf, she can be free again," Kurama confirmed. "Moving on, the last two are the one you have not met. Princess Ruto of the Zora is the Sage of Water while Nabooru of the Gerudo, Gonandorf's own tribesman, is the Sage of Spirit. Along with Princess Zelda, that's all seven of them."

Zelda wanted to ask why Kurama did not tell her what type of Sage she was, but Naruto spoke up before she did.

"So if we defeat Ganondorf and his minion, they will all be – Wait… Do you hear that?" Naruto asked before looking around. His ears captured the sound of another horse coming from behind them. Zelda and Navi tried to listen as well as shadowy silhouette closed in around them.

"What are they?" Navi asked.

"Phantoms horsemen, be careful," Kurama said as he swayed to the side to avoid an incoming black lance that intended to rip his head off.

There were many around them as Naruto removed a hand from the waist and drew his blade. He looked around him and noticed the enemies looked identical to each other right down to the smallest detail in the armor and weapon they had. One of them was coming from behind as Naruto dropped his sword into the ground. A solid wall made of stone emerged right in front of its path, but it phrased through the wall like it wasn't even there.

"They're… ghost!?" Naruto shouted in dread as his sword materialized in his hand again.

"Didn't you hear what I said? They are phantoms," Kurama snorted, increasing his speed.

Zelda leaned back against Naruto for stability before shooting several enemies close by with her fairy bow. Once the light arrows impacted against them, they dissipated into shadowy mist before reforming whole again. She repeated her attack on the opposite side and got the same result.

"How do we defeat them?" She asked as Naruto held onto her tightly as Kurama slowed down to evade another lance that meant to pierce his body.

"I don't know, but there must be a way right?" Naruto asked, forming a powerful sphere made of wind at the tip of sword. He aimed it the blade at one of the horsemen and let it fly. The rasenshuriken slammed cleaning into one of them. It expanded upon impact, enveloping the one that were closed to it in the process. Once the sphere of destruction died down, the rider and horse reformed again as if nothing happened. "… Are they immortals!?"

The demonic horsemen continued trying to attack Kurama as he evaded them as best he could while his passengers retaliated in vain. No matter how much they return fire, the phantom riders surrounding them seemed to be relentless. Eventually, Zedal noticed one of them actually evade her arrow. She then repeated as the rider constantly evaded her attack rather than taking it on like the rest.

"I think that's the real one," Zelda pointed out as Naruto followed her direction.

"You found it? Kill him!" Kurama said as he evaded several mores lance thrust around him. "You know, I can't keep doing this."

Naruto and Zelda tried to attack the targeted horsemen in unison with arrows and elemental blasts, but it slowed down and out of their reach while more phantoms appeared out of nowhere.

"Naru! Watch out!" Navi shouted, causing Naruto to push Zelda forward. Both children avoided a lance swiped over their head that mean to behead them. Naruto growled and immediately retaliated with a powerful slash with his sword, making the phantom turned into mist, trailing backward before forming again.

"More is appearing… We will be swarmed soon," Navi warned as Naruto nodded. He looked at the real one all the way behind them as his mind figure out ways to defeat it.

"Zelda, listen," Naruto said, pulling her back tightly against him so he could whisper his plan. She nodded in understand as she materialize dozens of arrow into her bow. She aimed it directly to the left of her as Naruto threw his sword to the right of the horsemen. They all teleported next to the real enemy a fraction before before Zelda fired. As the real one got pierced by dozens of light arrow in one go, all the phantom riders around the area exploded in mist.

"You did it!" Navi called out as the demonic creature collapsed onto the ground behind them.

Naruto holding on to Zelda tightly with a smile as Kurama continued onward. They reached the open plain of Hyrule for the first time in months as the bright sunshine descended upon them. Kurama slowed down to get his bearing before returning to his maximum speed toward one direction.

"We are almost there," Kurama warmed as the largest city within Hyrule Castle Town creeping up from the horizon. Zelda continued to look ahead while Naruto examined the surrounding. The rural area they were speeding through was scarcer of people than he'd expected. The inhabitants appeared to have migrated elsewhere away from the vicinity of the city.

"The entrance seems to be closed, Zelda," Naruto commented when looking over her shoulder. "There are a lot of guards outside too. Are they waiting for us, or…"

"They knew we were coming?" Navi asked while Zelda remained silence. She was hoping she would not have to fight her way in. The fairy bow gripped tightly in her hand for such scenario.

"It's more than likely they are here to stop us under his order," Naruto claimed with a frown. "I think we should go around to the side and climb over the wall."

"But that would be sneaking in. I don't want to fight our way in unless we have to," Zelda responded.

"We need to make sure if they are against us or not," Kurama added as Zelda nodded in agreement.

"Okay, if anything happens, make sure she's not capture, Kurama," Naruto said an authoritative tone of voice. Kurama didn't answer as it was an unnecessary command.

"Please open the gate," Zelda requested once Kurama reached the castle town's gate. The shadowy mare encircled the area in front of them while all of the guards widened their eyes at the blond-haired child and her companion.

"Princess Zelda… You're alive? Where have you been all this time?" One of the guards called out. The others were saying the same thing, but a few seconds later, their eyes shifted menacingly and they drew their weapons. "Capture the princess! Kill the boy!"

"Hey! I'm the one who's doing the killing!" Naruto retorted as he unsheathed his sword. He jumped off the horse and parried one of the closet guards before slashing through the strange ornament the man wore like an armband. The guard blinked as his mind became far clearer than before as Naruto dashed behind him and engaged another person.

"What was I doing?" The freed ones mumbled before looking at the girl, blinking. Their face filled was renewed with hope and joy. "It's Princess Zelda! She has been returned to us!"

"Yes… I have. I'm sorry for being away for so long," Zelda said while Naruto engaging the rest of the controlled guards in the background. He was far too agile and quick for them to catch him.

"Can you open the gate? I wish to see my father. Is he okay?"

"The King… the King! Yes… yes! Your father is safe the last time we saw him, but that was while ago," the guards answered while rubbing their head in discomfort. "This is very strange. I felt like I've just woken up from a dream. No… more like a nightmare."

"That is because you were being controlled by the armband," Navi divulged.

"Controlled? Armband… isn't that just a decorative item?"

Zelda decided to explain what had happened to them after she dismounted. Kurama returned to being a small shadowy orb and flew to Naruto's side once he dispatched the last guards by freeing their mind.

"We cannot open the gate on this side, Princess," the leader of the guards said. "If the armband is controlling us, then everyone inside the town is an enemy. We do not wish to fight them, but we cannot leave them like that. What are your orders?"

"Going in full force will produce many casualties," Kurama warned Zelda. "They are technically your people, even if brainwashed right now. I suggest going in a small group to knock out the guards along our way to the castle. If we defeat Ganondorf, or the one who controlling them, then everyone should return to normal. If not, we can always knock them out later and free them."

"Small group?" Zelda questioned. "Who do you have in mind?"

"Who else? You and Naruto, of course," Kurama answered, facing the blond-haired boy while floating to Zelda's side. "Naruto could do it alone if you asked him to, but I don't think you want to stay back and let him do all the work. He might need your support when fighting the man. Navi can come to cheer for you two as well."

As planned out, Naruto and Zelda climbed over a wall to the side while Kurama and Navi flew up. They sneaked around the town while the controlled guards were patrolling the emptied street with many houses emptied. The remaining civilians were not allowed to leave their own home even though there was still light out. Once they reach the castle, Naruto throw his sword through the open window. He and the Princess teleported to where it landed along with Navi and Kurama.

"Kekekekeke… the Princess has returned home," something called out above them once they entered a hallway toward the throne room. They both looked up and saw two small witches flying above on their broom stick. The only thing to differentiate between the two hags was the strange elemental headband they wore.

"That boy," Koume, the flame one, said. "Ah yes, that boy wounded our beloved Ganondorf."

"Dangerous," Kotake, the ice one, responded. "Kill him! Rip him apart!"

"Let's see who is killing who. Bring it on," Naruto retorted as his sword glowed brightly. He slashed the air, sending out a torrent of wind blades at the both of them. They swayed out the way as the attacks gutted the ceiling.

"Very dangerous!" Kotake admitted before firing numerous ice shards at Naruto, forcing him to jump out of the way. More deadly shards came forth as Naruto hid behind a pillar for protection. She materialized a huge block of ice to throw at him, but arrows of light coming from another person, forcing her to defend herself.

"Oh…? This is a problem," Koume said as materialized fiery spears lurched at Zelda.

"Zelda! Watch out!" Naruto warned as she leaped to the side in haste. The spot she was previously at exploded into a raging inferno as flames spread across the floor. Naruto swung his blade at the wall of fire while channeling his power and converting it into water. A tidal wave that came put out the fire immediately, drenching the whole room as well.

"Sorceress of Ice and Sorceress of Flames," Navi hinted while Naruto stood by Zelda's side.

"Ganondorf's most devoted servants," Kurama added and did not elaborate on how he knew. "I would say to use the opposite element against them, but that is unnecessary. Any sufficiently powerful attack will take them out. The only thing problematic about fighting them is that they are flying and easily evade you."

"Let see then how they evade this then," Naruto said as lightning crackled across the blade. When potent enough, he fired a bolt of thunder toward one. The witch evaded to the side, but the lightning bolt bended along the air and zapped her.

"You brat!" The other one shouted as she sent forth dozens of ice spear at him. Light arrows collided against the spears, exploding spectacularly. Zelda was able to fire arrows more rapidly than ice could manifest, forcing the witch to take evasive maneuver while the other one was being zapped by Naruto.

The Sorceress of Ice growled in anger before creating an orb of ice and threw it into the damped ground near Zelda, freezing it over rapidly. Naruto noticed it and stabbed his sword into the ground before it could reach Zelda, sending forth heat wave outward. Zelda continued to fire arrows at both of the witches, forcing them back.

"They are troublesome! Merge, we need to merge. Quickly now," Koume requested as Kotake agreed as they flew closer together, but a flying sword came in between before they could.

"As if I'm going to let you do that," Naruto said and immediately kicked the fire sorceress away and stabbed the ice one with a flaming blade in his hand. A crimson sphere materialized at its tip before he pulled the sword out, leaving the sphere inside the witch's body. "Turn to ash!"

Kotake, the Sorceress of Ice, roared in pain as the flaming rasenshuriken enveloped her by ripping her body apart when expanded. It then explored outward, leaving only ashen remain behind.

"Nooo! How could you!" Koume, the Sorceress of Flames, shouted in anguish as she blasted an enraged fiery beam at airborne boy.

A torrent of water came forth from the Hiraishin Blade and collided against the attack, erupting steams from the impact. By maintaining the technique against the witch, the recoil pushed Naruto up into the ceiling while he gripped the sword's handle tightly.

Koume groaned in pain and shock as her body was impaled by numerous golden arrows. The fire beam she tried to maintain immediately wavered and was overpowered by the blond. The geyser of chilling water crashed into Koume and slammed her into the wall.

"You… two… must die… you must die… " the witch groaned before a flying sword embedded in to her small body. Its handle was immediately gripped by a child as he lifted her above him.

"Maybe one day, but not by your hands," Naruto said darkly with a victorious smirk. He was quite proud at his current ability. He allowed gravity to do most of the work as he increased the angle, forcing the witch to groan in pain.

"Stop… mercy, please..." Koume beseeched desperately, but he did not relent. Instead, with a smile, he channeled his inner energy into the blade, splitting them into two different elements, water and wind, before mixing both in correct portion. The winkled hag shrieked in pain as her body was frozen solid. With a swing of his hand downward, the ice sculpture shattered into fragments and scattered across the ground.

The fractured piece of Koume's head with anguished face slid across the floor. It stopped in front of Zelda as she eyed it with horrified expression.

"Naruto… must you do that?" Zelda asked, looking directly at the blond boy.

"Of course, they were about to kill us," Naruto said while tilting his head slightly. "Should I spare her so she can come back one day and take revenge?"

Zelda realized the blond missed her point entirely. "That's not what I mean. I mean did you have to enj –

"I think Naruto did the right thing," Kurama said, interrupting Zelda. "You must not show compassion to them or you will regret it. You must commit to your goal or your people will suffer. Letting her go will be detrimental in the end. We could idle here and talk about it, but we're in a hurry."

Zelda frowned as she passed Naruto by.

Naruto pondered what he did wrong before following Zelda down the hall along with the strangely silence Navi. They ran into some of Ganondorf's mindless demonic entity standing guards, but the duo subdued them with ease. Everywhere in the castle they looked, including the sleeping chambers and throne room, the King and the Sages was nowhere to be found. Eventually, the freed Knights poured into the castle since the witches' magic no longer influenced their mind.

"Where are they? We checked every room. Ganondorf isn't even here either," Naruto questioned while Kurama hovered about, checking some priceless painting with interest. "Kurama! Are you listening?"

"Princess Zelda!" A captain called out and rushed toward her with a group of Knights in tow. They all kneeled before the Princess with their head sank deep toward the ground. "Please forgive us. We have failed you and your father. If only we had the courage to stop him before it was too late."

"No, please don't say that," Zelda assured. "You have tried your best to keep the peace even after you knew of his intention. You have not done anything wrong. More of our people would have died if you opposed him opening so please stand up."

While Zelda was addressing the Knights, Naruto looked out the window alongside with Kurama. A few minutes passed before most of the Knights left the room in search for Ganondorf, wherever he may be.

"What is happening over there?" Naruto questioned after seeing the pillar of light emerging from the chapel-like building. Navi floated around him and checked it out along with Zelda and some men, who requested to escort her for safety.

"The temple!" Zelda gasped. "No, the doorway is open? We're too late?"

"You mean the Temple of Time? No, we're not. We're going to teleport there directly," Naruto said as he threw his sword toward the building. Zelda grabbed hold of him while the Knights tried to stop her in panic. All of them vanished from the room and materialized before the Temple of Time. Not a moment sooner, numerous demonic creatures emerged from the earth.

"What are they?"

"Does it matter," Kurama answered the Knight. "They are enemies, kill them!"

"Protect the Princess!" The Knights shouted and formed a wedge line against the beasts. The Knight clashed against the demonic creatures once they were in range. Naruto slashed through the horde of monsters while Zelda fired arrows as quickly as she could. But for each demonic creature they killed, more were emerging from the ground. Their reinforcement seemed endless.

"You cannot waste your time here," Kurama warned Naruto, seeing the futility of the battle. "If Tri-force falls into his hands, then all will be lost. Let the Knights fight the monsters here. You must head into the temple and stop him."

Channeling powers into the blade as wind swirled around it. Naruto threw it directly at the temple. All the demons that got in its way were grinded into bits by the spiraling torrent of winds. The sword pierced through the closed door of the sacred building.

"Naru? Kurama?" Navi noted the blond and the shadowy orb had vanished from view. "Princess, Naru had gone ahead to fight Ganondorf alone."

Zelda looked around while her Knights held back the creatures as best as they could. She called out: "I need to get to the temple!"

"It's dangerous," one of the Knights said as he slashed through another demon. "We must retreat and come back with more men."

"No, it will be too late then," Zelda responded.

**XxXxX**

Running ahead across the large hall of the temple into a large room, Naruto noticed the six glowing crystals, encasing the Sages within. They were hovering to the side of the chamber while the spiritual stones were placed on the pedestal. The door of time on the other side of the room was still locked and sealed, however.

"Where is he?" Naruto asked, looking around the room while Kurama hovered around the room and examined each of the crystals. He noticed that some of the Sages were asleep.

"Hmm… they seemed exhausted," Kurama mumbled before returning to Naruto's side. "I don't know, but the door of time is still closed so something definitely happened here."

"Shit, were we too late?" Naruto questioned loudly as he stabbed his sword into the stone floor in frustration. "Damn it! Where are you!?"

"Naru…" A girl called out when she heard the familiar voice. She blinked tiredly and looked at the blond-haired boy. "Is that you, Naru?"

"Saira?" Naruto asked, looking at the green crystal.

"Saira!? Hang on, I will break you out," he said as the sword teleported directly into his hand. The blade illuminated brightly as more elements being combined. He didn't notice that after four elements, the glow shifted into darkness.

"No! Don't! You will kill her if you do," an owl warned from a golden crystal. "Gonandorf had used our combined power to breech in the barrier by creating a temporary portal between worlds. The seventh sage was the key, but he couldn't capture Princess Zelda so he'd used the King as a substitute instead. It should not have work, but the spiritual stones compensated. In doing so, we are stuck in such state. If you destroy the crystal, then you will effectively kill your friend."

"I'm sorry, Naru," Saira said as she drowsing off. "I feel so tired…"

Naruto's hand visible shaken as the Hiraishin blade returned to normal. "No… don't sleep! Please wake up!"

"Calm down, she's not dead," Kurama assured after examined the girl in detail.

"How do I free her then?"

"You cannot," the owl answered. "Not without the power of the Tri-force. Ganondorf will return soon from the Sacred Realm and no one can stands up against him. Only the Master Sword can defeat him, but you need to open the door of time with the song of time. Do you know it?"

Naruto was about to answer, but another rapid footsteps caught his attention.

"Naruto!" Zelda shouted as she ran toward him along with Navi. The remaining Knights were guarding the entrance while recovering their strength. The demonic creatures were lingered around outside instead of barging and assaulting them.

She tackled the blond onto the ground as he blinked in surprise. "Why did you left me behind!? You said you going to protect me, so why did you run ahead!"

"Ah… I didn't think they were that strong, and I thought you could handle yourself," Naruto replied and pointed at the surrounding crystals. "And this isn't the time for that."

"Princess Zelda. It's good that you are here," the owl greeted while Zelda felt embarrassed and got off Naruto. "I am Rauru, the Sage of Light. Do you have the Ocarina of Time with you?"

"I… do, honorable one," Zelda answered looking up at the owl before leering at other crystals in the room. She saw a woman inside a black crystal and raced toward that. "Impa! Wake up! It's me!"

"Please calm down, Princess Zelda," Darunia said from a reddish one. "She is just exhausted from being drained of energy. We all are."

"Yes, Princess," the owl said. "We don't have much time left. Please play the Song of Time with the Ocarina so the boy can claim the Master Sword. It is the only weapon that can defeat the Black King."

Kurama snorted at the statement, but did not utter any audible words.

Zelda took out her Ocarina of Time and was about to play the melody, but the ground shook heavily. All the Sages inside the crystal groaned in pain as their energy were sapped to form a rift just before the door of time. Beyond the portal was the golden land as a man approached them with a small white crystal in his hand.

"No… he has the Tri-force… you must stop him in any way you can," the owl called out while in excruciating pain.

"Hahahahahaha! Nothing will stands in my ways," Gonandorf laughed as the sky of the Sacred Realm darkened onimously. Naruto shivered as amount of evil were leaking from the man through the opening.

"The golden land is reflecting what is in his heart… it's scary," Navi muttered in fear as the building became incredibly gloomy.

Ganondorf was about to pass through the portal and into Hyrule, but powerful energy blast coming from a sword pushed him back. Naruto jumped through the portal while massive amount of energy swirled around the Hiraishin blade, shifting into multiple elements.

"Brat… how dare you hit me!?" Ganondorf roared as his demonic aura erupted all around him. He charged forward, but light arrows came from Zelda slammed into him. Kurama and Navi also passed through the portal, joining Naruto.

Ganondorf sent forth magical blasts at the duo as they evaded them and retaliated, but their combined attacks deal very little damage against the magical shield surrounded his body. Naruto sent for powerful elemental beams against Ganondorf, but that only seemed to faze him a little.

"Was he always this strong," Naruto muttered as he gathered and channeled more energy. A massive wind blade ran cross the area with a swipe, slashing through the ground before impacting against a dark sparking sphere of energy that was created by the man.

Numerous arrows of light crashed against Ganondorf from the side, but they weren't strong enough to penetrate his shield so he ignored them and concentrated on the blond. He threw the ball of energy toward the boy.

Naruto managed to evade it, but the shockwave it generated still blasted him away. He was about to continued his assault, but those arrows were beginning to annoy him.

Zelda continued to shoot him as quickly as she could, but the King of Evil eventually grabbed her. He was about to throw her off the side of the cliff, but Naruto cut off the offending hand with as much power he could muster, freeing Zelda in the process.

"Garhhhhh…" Ganondorf roared in pain, holding the bleeding limb as his anger spiked. The symbol in his hand glowed brightly as he transformed into a titanic monster. His overall power skyrocketed as the ground cracked under his feet with each step. Naruto and Zelda were unconsciously stepping backward from the sight of a Demon King.

"I don't want to alarm you or anything, the portal is shrinking. The Sages are dying the longer they maintain the portal," Kurama pointed out nonchalantly as the duo was cornered against the portal. "If they ran out of power before the battle is concluded, we might be trapped in here with that thing, forever."

The Demon King, Ganon, sent forth magical blasts, but the attacks collided against multiples solid stone walls that rose up from the ground. He continued to do so while Naruto intercepted each other. The arrows Zelda fired at the demon seemed to bounce off it harmlessly.

Naruto panted heavily, gripping the sword in his hand tightly. "Kurama… the portal. If it's close then no one can get out of here right?"

"Hmmm… I would assume so. The lock and key is on the other side and the barrier is still in place, so unless something else happened, there's no way out," Kurama answered calmly. "However, I have been wrong before. It might have the power to tear open the portal."

It didn't take a second for Naruto to make up his mind. He grabbed and threw Zelda through the diminish portal to her surprise before throwing his sword into the distance.

"Naruto! What are you doing?" Zelda asked in shock as the portal became too small for her to pass to the other side again. She outstretched her hand through it to grab him, but Naruto stepped away.

"There's no need for the both of us to die here," Naruto said while his back facing her. "We can't stop him even together, but I can delay him until you figure out how. Navi, please watch over the Princess for me, and Kurama… thanks for everything."

"No, you can't do this! You will die if you stay here!" Navi called out, but Naruto trapped her into a small glass jar and tossed it through the portal. He was going to do the same to Kurama, but the shadowy orb was already on the other side with a smirk.

"Zelda… I told you I will protect you no matter what," Naruto said as he stood before the Demon King without his weapon without a shred of fear and doubt. He then charged forward, evading the furry of slashes before tackling the monster with his entire body. With a smile on his face, he and it vanished to where the Hiraishin Blade had landed. In doing so, the Tri-force of Courage had manifested itself on the back of his hand.

Zelda screamed his name as he disappeared from her sight. She collapsed to the floor as the rift before her closed completely. Kurama was staring at Navi, who tried to break out of the glass jar and shouting something. The surrounding Sages were drained of their energy as they fell asleep inside their respective prison, seemingly forever.

"I will find a way, Naruto, I promise," Zelda vowed heartedly as tears streaming down her cheeks while holding the Ocarina of Time tightly. The Tri-force of Wisdom finally manifested itself upon her hand.

**XxXxX**

Three years went by in a blink of an eye as the blond-haired boy grew older and stronger. The strange energy flowing through his body had increased several folds, boosting all his natural abilities greatly. As his trusted blade clashed against another held by the Demon King, Ganon, powerful shockwave erupted across the desolately land known as the Dark World. The day that Ganon, formerly Ganondorf, touched upon the Tri-Force, the Sacred Realm had become a twisted version of itself.

Everything that once existed in the former golden land had become something else entirely as the days and months passed, except for him. Vile abominations roamed the world under the command of the Demon King, hounding the then twelve-year-old boy day and night. He refused to simply lie down and die like he was supposed to.

"Give me it!" Ganon roared as Naruto evaded storm of swords that carved up the earth with ease. The Hiraishin Blade glowed brightly in his hand as he stabbed it into ground before the demon King. Magma erupted from beneath the earth, incinerating and melting all the weak demons surrounding him.

Naruto leaped away to evade the blade before the sword teleported into his hand. He landed some distance from Ganon while the ambient air shimmered from the heat.

Gripping the handle tightly while the Tri-force of Courage glowed on the back of his hand, he pointed the edge at the adversary before him. "I'm tired of running… I'm going to kill you today!"

"Grrr… how dare you challenge me!?" Ganon roared as it charged forward, across the flowing magma.

Naruto concentrated hard as he lifted the blade before his unflinching eyes. Wind, fire, earth, water, and lighting combined together as the sword glowed darkly. He felt the surrounding energy of the Dark World entered his body, empowered himself greatly. A sphere of blackness materialized at the tip as he pointed at Ganon. Without a single word, it blasted forward, enveloping the Demon King as well as vast amount of terrain behind it.

Once the deadly beam dissipated, Naruto stabbed the sword on the ground and panted heavily. There was nothing left before him beside a deep and wide trench that once filled with dirt and stones.

"I did it… I finally killed him…" Naruto muttered and dropped to the ground. He watched the calming horizon with a breath of relief. What seems like hours went by before something dark spoke up.

"**I'm impressed that you had grown this strong. That tenancy of yours is noteworthy,**" a black mist drifted upward from inside the trench. It felt oddly familiar to the horsemen he fought those years ago with the girl he wanted to see again. There was a glowing triangle, radiating with powers within the ominous fog. "**Congratulation, the Tri-force of Power is yours.**"

"Power…" Naruto mumbled as he outstretched his palm toward it like being hypnotized. He stopped just before the Tri-force of Power and collapsed his palm.

"No… I shouldn't... It's wrong. She wouldn't like it if I did," He mumbled and closed his eyes. The vision of Zelda, who was older than the last time he saw her, leaning against the side of a wall, bleeding profusely from a wound on her shoulder while a man followed approached her from behind.

"Zelda," the blond muttered and opened his eyes to capture the glowing Tri-force within his focus again.

The shadow entity hissed. **"With all three in your possession, you can get out of this place and see your beloved Zelda. You can** **hold her hands, see her smile, and feel her touch. No one can separate you ever again."**

Hearing what he wanted, Naruto slowly outstretched his hand again. It took several minutes for his finger to touch upon the Tri-force of Power. It glowed brightly when he did.

Naruto to clench his hand tightly the symbol of the Tri-force, with two out of three triangles, were glowing brightly. He had claimed the Tri-force of Power and Courage. Only the Tri-force of Wisdom remained.

For a couple of years after that, Naruto tried to find the last piece in the Dark World by ripping the land apart, piece by piece, but no matter how hard he searched, the Tri-force of Wisdom alluded him.

"It's not here… It must be in Hyrule then," Naruto muttered while watching the dark sky with his dark blue eyes. His flapping attire had changed from the reddish color into obsidian, reflecting his current state of mind. "Why did I want it again? Hmm… maybe I will remember when I have within my grasp."

* * *

**Author Notes:**

Demise is the main antagonist from Skyward Sword if you don't know. He actually is sealed within the Master Sword by the Hero of Sky (Link), so he technically isn't dead. The Hero (Courage), the Goddess (Wisdom), the Demon (Power). I'm disappointed at the amount of feedbacks for this story, but since this part of the story is almost at the conclusion, I will finish it for the final reconciliation between Naruto and Zelda.


	5. The Hero of Time

**The Hero of Time** (NarutoxZelda)

**Disclaimer:** This story is fiction. All the characters, names and places belong to their respective owners.

* * *

**=[The Hero of Time]=**

Exhaled from her full lips, compressed air struck the labium by propagating through the internal duct before entering the inner chamber. The simplistic tone, produced by the air stream, vibrated and resonated within the small chamber of the ocarina. Her slender fingers wrapped around the handheld musical instrument, covering the neatly aligned holes from the outside, thus altering the pitch of the emitting sound. Each tune came forth from the instrument was stranger than the last, but adjoining together one after another, they formed a beautiful melody, echoing throughout the former sealed room within the Temple of Time.

Princess Zelda, now matured into a beautiful woman with long flowing golden hair, played the mythical song of time while standing before the pedestal that was at the center of the room. Five years had gone since the faithful day; the day when she and he were separated between worlds, and for each day that came after, she'd hoped he would return. So many great men, heroes of their own right, from lands far and wide came to Hyrule, hoping to draw the legendary blade out of its resting place and in the process, capture her heart.

They could only hope, for the blade did not budge no matter how hard they'd tried. Even if they could, her heart and mind were already ensnared by another, trapped in a different world.

She continued to play the magical tune with all the unreciprocated emotions she'd felt for each painful day in the past years while a white glowing fairy orbited around her. Even surrounded by her beloved people and loyal retainers, she had never felt more alone. These peaceful days ruling Hyrule could not compare to those with the blond-haired boy in the small home erected by woods, stones, barks and leaves. The dark and murky forest where they had lived did not seem so dark anymore, at least not to her.

"Princess," Navi called out once the song reached its final note. The small fairy settled on the hilt of the unyielding legendary blade upon the elevated ground. The legendary blade stood unwavering in the vacated chamber for the centuries that had gone by. "Please don't be sad. Someone will surely pull out the great sword and open the gateway into the golden land so you can meet Naru again."

"I wanted to believe… but, I'm afraid that no one can, Navi," Zelda replied softly, lowering the ocarina from her lips after a few pregnant seconds had passed. "This sword is meant for Naruto, and only Naruto can pull it out."

Her blue eyes saddened. "Five years… it has been five years since the Sages entered their eternal slumber. Without their powers and guidance, I'm at a lost… I don't know what else I could do…. I… don't…"

Zelda trailed off, mumbling inaudibly to herself while holding her right hand and examined the glowing Tri-force of Wisdom upon its back. She did not understand why it was bestowed upon her, but even with its power, the impregnable barrier protecting the Sacred Realm remained unyielding.

"Naruto…" She mumbled shakily. A memory flashed in her mind, in which he turned his back toward her and charged toward the demon alone without a shred of hesitation. "He's still there, beyond that door, waiting for me. I can't give up. I promise myself that I wouldn't give up. His smile, I want to see it again even if it takes the remainder of my life. Only once… this feeling… I wonder if he feels the same."

"I'm sure Naru does. He can be selfish and do things on his own at time, but he's sincere to things that are related to you, Princess," Navi claimed without a moment of delay and a shred of hesitation, but the sadness in her voice was apparent. She left the hilt of the sword and landed on the shoulder of the only other person in the room. "He will return to you… somehow… someway. Please have hope."

"Yes… I can only hope," Zelda responded weakly with a forced smile. She tilted her head and looked at the fairy, wanting to ask whether he would be the same person she remembered if he was returned to her. She knew that the fairy obviously would not know the answer, but she wanted… needed comfort in any way she could. She had tried to forget such a thought, but the imagery plagued her mind. It was the merciless eyes of a killer he'd shown when killing the Fire Sorceress; those uncompassionated eyes. She bit her lower lip and repeated herself. "… I can only hope."

Navi gave a light nod, staring at the barrier, not knowing what to do next. "If only Kurama was still around. He would know what to do. He left without saying a word. Now that he's gone, I missed his condescending remarks and constant gloating..."

The fairy let a hysterical chuckle. "I can't believe I just said that. What's wrong with me?"

Zelda only gave a small smile as she was also in the dark where Kurama had gone.

After the portal to the Sacred Realm collapsed, the shadow fairy became silence and distant as if there was something he wanted to say, but could not. He spent most of his times alone inside the Temple, watching and contemplating deeply alone. One day, without leaving a single word, he was gone. No one saw he left the room so he must have sneaked away somehow.

"Navi… I believed Kurama will return when Naruto does," Zelda comforted. "Maybe then, we can all live in the woods again."

"Like we used to," Navi added. "I missed those days too."

Meanwhile, beyond the sealed gateway of the sacred chamber and into another realm, the Dark World, a shadowy orb waited patiently. That was the only thing it had been doing for the last five years, waiting for the blond-haired boy to appear. There were times it wanted to leave the immediate area in order to conduct its own search around the world, but refrained from doing so. It might accidently missed the blond if it ever left its spot. For the effort, the long awaited day finally arrived when that blond climbed those the stone steps toward the temple.

"It's… about time. I had really thought you were dead somewhere in this place, but then that wouldn't make much sense," Kurama greeted, trying not to show its excitement while hovering before the only entrance into the Temple of Light.

The once sacred building, erected at the center of the golden land, now tainted with darkness of the world while its owner, the Sage of Light, was asleep within a golden crystal in the Temple of Time. Both temples were built to form a link between two realms, but that was not the only way to create a bridge between worlds.

Naruto looked at the strange shadowy orb and slanted his head slightly to the side in thought. His clouded mind immediately yanked out the buried memory and compared it to the entity before him. It was enough for him to know that this was the guardian spirit that had accompanied him when he left the Kokiri Forest to go on an adventure; to see the world like he always wanted. He did not return the greeting, but instead, he stood his ground while watching it carefully. Minutes passed, and when it drifted closer to him, he attempted to slash it with the sword in hand without uttering a single word.

"What the…? Naruto! I thought you wanted to kill me for a second there," Kurama said with slight dismay after successfully evaded the very fast sword strike. He noticed the dark expression on the blond before backing some distance away for safety. As he had feared, the blond followed up with faster slashes, causing him to sway side to side in order to avoid the fatal blows, if only narrowly.

"Oi! Stop That! I will die if I get split in half!" Kurama shouted, jerking to the side and gliding away from the assailant, who continued to chase him with expressed ill intention. "Stop it, you stupid brat! I'm getting piss! Is this how you treat someone who has been waiting for you all this time?"

When no sound came from behind him, Kurama roared. "Say something you damn mute! Did someone cut out your tongue?"

"Shut the hell up, you imposter! You're taking on the form of my friend now? I will fucking kill you and grind you to dust for that!" Naruto responded in anger. He was not seeing the guardian spirit that had taught him so much and assumed it was another demonic beasts; one of many that had been plaguing him constantly for the last five years. No matter how many he'd killed, they always spawned back even if their master, the Demon King, was dead. It did not take long for him to understand that no form of friendship could be found in the desolated world reflected by an evil heart, only monsters lurked in the shadows.

"What was that? Imposter… yeah okay, you could say that, but it's really me so put the sword down already! Don't you know that the only person who can impersonate me is me!" Kurama shouted back as his nine shadowy tendrils swayed side to side. He was considering retaliation, but had enough self-control to refrain from doing so.

Naruto's expression darkened as he didn't hear anything that Kurama had said. Something sinister was infesting his mind, drowning out every noise that came from the surrounding. The soothing voice was all that the blond needed to hear.

**"This thing is a fake. It is standing between you and what you seek. Don't let it slow you down. Kill it quickly and be on your way," **advised the dark voice calmly.

Naruto tightened his grip around the handle of his trusted blade. The sharp edges glowed brightly with empowered energy before dozens of icy wind blades flew forward with a flurry of swipes.

Kurama rolled to the side along the air, evading the technique by carefully navigating between the gaps they'd provided. He then narrowed his eyes at the blond, seeing through the physical form and saw what was beneath. The darkness that was jailing the spirit of a hero became the focus of his attention.

"So, that's it then? You've allow him inside? I guess that I was right after all, huh, Naruto?" Kurama questioned darkly. He then glanced around the area as if searching for someone before letting out a weary sigh. "Even someone good nature can still be swayed to dark side if given enough time. No one is truly good or truly evil. Don't you agree?"

Naruto glared at the orb. Not hearing anything beside the dark voice in his mind, raging torrent of flames and earth swirled around his sword menacingly. They surged forward like a tornado of destruction, ripping the ground apart with little difficulty.

"Tsk… okay, this is a problem… hmm… oh well, it's not like I haven't done it before," Kurama said dryly after another narrowed evasion. His body enlarged and expanded outward, morphing a curtain of darkness. Once sufficient size was reached, he launched himself at Naruto by closing in from both side.

Naruto tried to break out by attacking the darkness hastily, but he felt his attacks were striking a dense intangible fog. The darkness soon enveloped him fully, causing his mind to become hazy. He could feel the mist sliding over his skin and pouring into his body through multiple openings. Frustrated, Naruto dropped to the ground and thrashed about. He tried to expel the invader in any way he could, but his struggle was pointless. Soon enough, the dark mist managed to invade his body completely, revealing the arid surrounding to him when it did. On the ground, Naruto huffed and blinked tiredly, feeling the temptation of sleep. He engaged the mental battle to stay awake, but gloomy world around him faded away bit by bit as each second passed.

He gave in, and the strange dream came once more.

He knew it was surreal, yet he felt the cold crispy breeze slapping against his cheeks while the elasticity of a rein wrapped around his dominant hand. He pulled back the leather strap slowly and redirected the animal, weaving it through the rocky path carefully and up the slanted ground. The black stallion stopped on top of a hill, overlooking the bountiful landscape below. The magnificent Hyrule Castle in the distance was captured in his vision.

He cocked his head around to see the worried expression of a blond-haired female passenger. No word was exchanged between them. Instead, she tightened her hands around his waist and chest for much needed support. He gave her a nod, heaving his chest and looking ahead again. His view scaled skyward and focused the impressive levitating islands above. He closed his blue eyes for a few seconds before opening it fully again at horizontal level. Gripping the strap tightly, he directed their mount around and down the hillside. They resumed their travel toward the castle in haste, all while eerily beautiful golden streams of light began pouring upon the land.

Unexpectedly, the nightmare did not come after the dream reached its end.

Opening his dark blue eyes and gripping his sword tightly in his right hand, Naruto flipped himself up right and got into a defensive stance. He examined the surrounding before focusing at a shadowy orb that was nearby. It tried to say something, but his voice overwhelmed it. "Where am I? What did you do to me? Let me out of here you asshole!"

"Shut up and listen to me for a minute will you!?" Kurama roared in frustration, earning a killer stare from Naruto. "Huh… so you can hear me now? I guessed it works."

"Of course I can. I'm not deaf, you know," Naruto retorted vexingly, rubbing his pointy ears.

"Well, you were before," Kurama stated and let out a growl. "And you even tried to kill me too! Your own guardian! That wasn't nice at all. I really had thought about punching the light out of you when you did, but it would be counterproductive."

"Pffph… You think you can knock me out? Let me see you try! Bring it on," Naruto taunted.

"Stop that! I said doing such thing will be counterproductive," Kurama repeated. "If I did and considering your personality, it's more than likely that you will be pissed when you wake up, forcing me to knock you out again before repeating the process again. It's an endless cycle, don't you see?"

"… good point," Naruto muttered while rolling his eyes. He then pointed his sword demandingly at the shadowy orb. "If you're Kurama then prove it. Tell me something only he would know."

Kurama stared at the blond before narrowing his eyes slightly.

"You and Zelda were so cute, cuddling together like a couple of children lost in the wood. Oh wait, you were a couple of children lost in the woods," Kurama deadpanned. "You even took advantage of the situation and done something you should not have –

"Bullshit! That never happens! Don't make shit up!" Naruto snapped as his face flustered with red. He then face-palmed and did an annoyed headshake. "Okay, I believe you. Only Kurama would know and say something like that…"

"I've told you no one can impersonate me," Kurama reminded.

Naruto rolled his eyes again and leered at the milky surrounding. "So where are we? This isn't a dream is it?"

"No, it's not. Since that asshole is preventing me from speaking to you from outside, I had to pull you into your mindscape. It's rather emptied in here so you should fill it with something interesting. Lewd picture of Zelda would be nice," Kurama said as the surrounding whiteness darkened slightly. "Hmmm… Looks like the idiot haven't completely taken you over yet. That's good to know. We still have some time left before he shows up in here."

"He?" Naruto questioned, ignoring the previous suggestion. He rubbed his temple, feeling his mind had become much clearer now than in the past couple of years. "It's that voice, telling me what to do, right? I can't believe I listen to him, but there was no one to talk to in this place… what is he exactly?"

"His name is Demise. I've told you that Ganondorf is not who he appeared. That is because he was just really a puppet, controlled by a menace from ancient past."

Kurama continued after Naruto arched a brow. "Demise is the true adversary you must face. He is the original Demon King, who had been defeated by the **_Hero of Sky _**thousands of years ago. Demise is the evil that was sealed within the Master Sword. It is the sword that you should have pulled out like you were supposed to. But… it's expected that events tend to deviate with all the meddling going on."

Naruto remained attentive and followed Kurama's direction as an onyx tendril pointed at the symbol on the back of his hand.

"I could go on about how the Hero, the Goddess, the Demon are connected since the creation of the world, but all you need to know is that dark and light exists in duality. One cannot exist without the other no matter what. If the spirit of hero exists, so does the spirit of villain… demon… hatred… monster… there's a lot of names for it, but they all mean the same thing in the end. Anyway, from the Tri-force on your hand, both of them are within you just like the Tri-forces of Courage and Power."

Two of the three triangles glowing brightly as Naruto examined the golden sigil. He blinked at them and finally remembered his original goal was when he'd acquired the Tri-force of Power. He'd won it fair and square against Ganon so he didn't regret claiming it one bit. "Oh that's right… I was going to find the Tri-force of Wisdom… so I could get out of here. I have searched everywhere, but I still couldn't find it. This is the last place to search."

Naruto then frowned as he knew it would not be there. "It's in Hyrule isn't it?"

"Yes it is, and I'm sure you already knew who has it," responded Kurama. "Everything began with her after all."

"Her? You mean Zelda?"

"Who else? But I guess I should tell you some important facts," snorted Kurama. "Zelda is the mortal form of the Goddess Hylia, who was tasked to lead the world to prosperity after its creation. Since she is the light or so to speak, the opposite will appear to prevent her from doing that."

"And that is Demise," Naruto said.

"Hmmm… not exactly," Kurama said with a frown, pondering about the bearers of the **_light _**and **_dark force_**. "It's more complicated than that, but you can assume Demise is that person for now. For a time, there was a balance between the two sides, but Hylia decided to drag in another spirit for the complete trifecta like the Tri-force. In doing so she had tipped the scale."

"Another spirit… you mean the hero, right?" Naruto asked. "Zelda is the Goddess, Demise is the Demon then the Hero is me?"

Kurama looked at Naruto before snickering. "Three spirits are trapped in an unending cycle as the legend goes. The Goddess will always be reborn into the monarch bloodline of Hyrule after every few generations while the spirit of the hero will emerge in the one with unwavering courage. The hero will come to the goddess' aid and help her fight against the spirit of the demon."

"Woah, you skipped ahead there. What's the legend about?" Naruto questioned. "And you didn't answer my question."

"Tsk… I could tell you all about the legend, but that will take far too much time right, and such thing is not really important to you anyway. Just know that the Goddess summoned the Hero, who killed the Demon and brought peace to the world," Kurama answered.

"And they lived happily ever after," Naruto added a snarky remark.

"No," Kurama corrected. "What the legend did not state is that the hero will always be her champion, never was her mate. They might have some sort of a deep feeling or connection for each other, but it never leads to anywhere because if their two spirits joined then one must inevitably fade away. Doing something like that would be detrimental in the end."

"Wait… what?"

Kurama sighed and pointed a tendril at Naruto. "Bottom line, Zelda is the Goddess. If you considered yourself as a hero of this story then it's impossible for you and her to have any good ending no matter how much you wanted it. Heroes and villains might fall, but legends endure, and it said you two cannot be together."

"No… I don't believe that," Naruto stated, pointing the sword at Kurama in disbelief. "I did everything for her, and you're saying that we could never be together no matter what? I'm not some reincarnated hero like you said! I am me, and I'm not going to let some stupid legend dictates how I live my life!"

"Hahahaha… that's more like the Naruto I knew," Kurama responded. "That's why I've been telling you to make your own rules and do whatever you feel like it! You messed up the legend by falling really hard for the Goddess and more so by taking the spirit of the demon into yourself. Right now, nothing is following the script of the story."

Naruto glared at it, lowering his sword. "Script? Story? Am I missing something?"

"Oh…. hmmm… alright… I will tell you how this story supposed to play out since I don't think you can mess it up more than it is right now."

"Hey! What you mean mess up? I told you I'm not going to follow some stupid legend."

"Hehe… calm down. Like I've hinted before, you supposed to pull out the Master Sword in the Temple of Time before confronting Ganondorf, but you didn't since could open the Door of Time without the Ocarina of Time. But that was a good thing. If you did, you will inadvertently allow Ganondorf passage into the Sacred Realm where he could claim the Tri-force for himself. All while you get trapped in stasis until you grow old enough to become the Hero of Time. Does that sound like a good plan?"

"What? No fucking way! That's a terrible plan! I get trapped for years while he get the Tri-force?" Naruto snorted.

Kurama nodded in agreement while snickering. "Well that was how it supposed to be. Since Ganondorf worship power above all, only the Tri-force of Power will accept him as its bearer when he lays his hands upon them. The other two, the Tri-force of Courage and Wisdom, will seek out those that they deem to be worthy. You, as the hero, will be bestowed with the Tri-force of Courage while Princess Zelda, as the goddess, will bestowed with the Tri-force of Wisdom. Together, you and her will fight against the King of Evil and emerge victorious."

"Huh… wait! Isn't that the same right now?" Naruto asked, remembering how the event played out several years ago. "With a few minor changes…"

"Minor? I don't think so. You supposed to fight him after he turned the entire land of Hyrule into a place where evil spawned and vile monsters roamed for seven years. Luckily, you defeated him before he could do all that so a congratulation is in order," Kurama said. "Congratulation for the job well done. You deserved it."

"Shut up," Naruto retorted furiously while Kurama cracked up.

"Hahaha… Alright, here's the kicker. If you did it the right way, the happy ending you wanted will not happen since the legend, the force that drives this world forward will prevent you two from getting together no matter what. Zelda, in her infinite wisdom, will decide to change the past and send you back to the time when you first met her as children in order to prevent Ganondorf from plunging Hyrule into darkness."

"That's… no…. that's…" Naruto mumbled, pondering more on the information. He shook his head in frustration and admitted it was inevitable in such event. "If that was the case then she did the right thing. If Hyrule was in such state then it was better to change the past."

Kurama continued to snicker as he found it was amusing. He didn't elaborate on what would happen to Princess Zelda and Hyrule after she sent the hero of time back to the past and inadvertently created a separate timeline; one without a hero to protect it from the dark.

"Well, that was what supposed to happen, but you messed it up by literally kidnapped the Princess and set off a different chain of events. Good thing you didn't pull the Master Sword from its resting place or you will be trapped by it until you are of age while Ganondorf free to terrorize the world uncontested. Things are different now. Hyrule isn't destroyed… yet… probably not for another few decade. In fact, it's relatively peaceful and stable with Ganondorf gone and his remaining loyalists were labeled as criminals and being hunted."

"I see… at least it work out for the better, but I'm still trapped here," Naruto murmured. He then blinked and arched his brow questioningly. "Wait… How do you know what happened to Hyrule if you're in here with me? How did you get in here in the first place? I thought this was supposed to be sealed off? Did the Sages open another portal? Where is it?"

"Calm down, one question at a time," Kurama retorted as the surrounding darkened more. "Hmm… Demise will break in here soon so be ready to fight him. As for how I am in this place with you, I will reveal everything as much as I can to you once you defeat him. Don't argue and trust me on that for now."

"… okay, but you better tell me after this, or I will dice you up," Naruto responded as readied himself for the upcoming battle. "By the way, you got any pointer in fighting him? He's the original King of Demon after all."

"So? Didn't you defeat one before? It's not going be much different, probably," Kurama said as Naruto stared at him. "A word of warning before you battle him. Killing him in this place will destroy his consciousness forever. But be careful, the same can be said to you. It would be disastrous if you were to lose. With your power in his hand, he could turn each of the connecting realms into a twisted version of themselves."

"I thought this is a mindscape… never mind," Naruto muttered, realizing it was a stupid question.

**"You… how did you do that?" **Demise roared angrily after a swirl of shadow manifested inside the mindscape.

"You're not the only entity that can possess a person," Kurama retorted and floated to the side. "And don't mind me. I'm just here to watch, and he won't listen to you anymore."

"**Is that so?**" The tangible shadow morphed into the shape of Naruto, armed with the same sword. "**No matter… this is where it's end! I will finally have my revenge!**"

"Revenge?" Naruto questioned. "What is he talking about? I didn't do anything to him."

"Weren't you listening? The first hero defeated and sealed him," Kurama said. "So he pretty much held a grudge against all of them, including you. Didn't you kill Ganondorf a while back? Well, he might hold a grudge for that too. Put up a good show for me."

"Oi!" Naruto called out. "You're not going to help? And you said you were my guardian spirit."

"I am your guardian spirit, but I guide, not help you fight your battle," Kurama said flatly. "When did I ever do something like that? Enough chat already. If you don't pay attention to him, you will lose."

Mimicking the same combat style as Naruto, Demise threw the blade at the blond and teleport directly toward it. Naruto blocked the slash from his blind spot and retaliated, but Demise countered the attack like what he would do. They continued to grind the edges of their blades against each other before disengaging and creating a distance between themselves. Demise pointed his sword toward to the sky as it glowed darkly with his power. He swung downward, sending forth a powerful blast of potent energy. The dark beam collided against another one that came from Naruto.

Demise growled as energy erupted from his blade while Naruto did the same. Elemental beams were then exchanged back and forth between them.

"This will take a while," Kurama muttered from the sideline. "I wish I have something to eat at the moment."

Neither combatant was losing against the other even though Naruto was stronger with the Tri-force of Power and Courage empowering him. In contrast, Demise knew Naruto's tactics and abilities to the smallest details. He'd been constantly sending minions to hound the blond at every turn to study him for such an occasion.

They continued to exchange clashes and slashes while dashing around each other for what seems like hours without either of them getting an upper hand on the other.

"Stop copying me, you asshole! Find your own techniques!" Naruto roared as he sent forth hundreds of air blades. It collided against erected pillars of solid earth. Demise teleported to the side and mimicked the attack, forcing Naruto to evade. "Try blocking this then."

Naruto channeled as much power into his sword while Demise did the same, mirroring him. They charged toward each other for their sword to meet. The resulting titanic eruption of energy flung them both away as the whole surrounding rippled and shimmered.

Groaning and pulling himself up, Naruto looked at his sword as the blade shattered in fragment while the one Demise held was also destroyed.

"Damn it," Naruto mumbled, holding the handle. He looked at Kurama, who remained stoic. "The real one is not broken is it?"

"**This is unexpected, but let's see how you fight without your weapon, Goddess' chosen one,**" Demise quipped and lurched forward, unarmed.

Naruto staggered back from the powerful blow to the side of his face. The doppelganger continued the relentless assault without mercy, pushing Naruto back with each accomplished strike. The internal and external damage accumulated, forcing Naruto to his knees and gasping for air.

"**Only that much? Without your sword, you are nothing! It's only befitting that you die by my hand like I did under yours,**" Demise lifted his hand in the air as black-jagged sword with an inverted Tri-force materialized in the air. "**Ghirahim!**"

The moment the dark blade held firmly in his hand, Demise revered back to his original demonic looking form. The appearance he had would strike fear into all those that saw it, but Naruto only chuckled when he looked up at the large dark man with reptilian skin and flaming hair.

"So that's what you look like, no wondered you're the villain," Naruto muttered and pulled himself up straight. He stared directly into the Demon King's eyes with a cheeky smile. An energy overcoat flickered as it enveloped his body. Wind wrapped around his arms as he entered his stance. "I didn't really want to punch myself because it feels wrong, but if you're like this then I'm not going to hold back one bit."

"**W-What?**" Demise uttered with confusion as he didn't know the sword the blond used was only a training wheel. By then, it was too late as lightning fist was powerful enough to piece his armor cleanly through to the other side.

**XxXxX**

The ground around the Temple of Time rumbled as black lightning crackled on the outside, alerting everyone in the immediate vicinity to the danger. Within the sacred chamber of the holy building, a glass-like crack began to form in the air while being surrounded by six colored crystals that imprisoned the Sages.

"Something is happening! Please be careful," Navi called out as she hovered around the Princess before the phenomenon along with the Knights of Hyrule. "A rift is opening… could it be Naru?"

Once the rift was large enough, the first thing anyone saw was a blond-haired boy with black attire. An ominous dark sword with the inverted Tri-force was in his hand. On the other hand, he was holding a glowing white crystal. It was the same one that Ganondorf held those years ago.

"Seal the outer door immediately!" Zelda ordered as the servants outside the room complied. Her hands were visibly shaken at how much demonic energy was radiating from beyond the portal, seeping into the temple. The Tri-force within her also vibrated wildly as it came closed to the other two. It wanted to join and be one with them again.

The loyal Knights of Hyrule surrounded their beloved monarch as the blond-haired man stepped through the portal and onto the Temple of Time's ground. The rift immediately collapsed behind him while the white crystal stopped glowing.

"Naru! You have returned home," Navi called out, orbiting around him excitedly. "But… how?"

"Navi…ah yes. I was bored of waiting so I open the rift with the power I achieved from the Sacred Realm… or more correctly, the Evil Realm now. The Leader of the Sages helped a little, even if he was a substitute," Naruto answered with a smirk while the fairy hovered in front of him. With a quick slid of hand, Navi found herself inside a glass jar again before being rolled across the floor to the side wall.

"That's one pest out of the way," Naruto added and faced the rest of the people in the room. "Zelda. I've missed you. Did you miss me?"

"Naruto… you're… no, you can't be…" Zelda muttered as the bow in her hand became unsteady. "What has happened to you? You have change."

"Of course I did. What do you expect, Zelda?" Naruto questioned, lifting the dark sword up above him and showing the two glowing triangles at the back of his hand. "Being trapped in that hellhole for five whole years with murderous hounding you night and day, change a person. Not to mention the Demon King."

"Demon King… Ganondorf," Zelda gasped.

"… Don't worry. The Demon King has been displaced, and I feel much better now… stronger and more powerful than ever imaginable," Naruto said. A devious smile formed as he lowered the sword. "Now, you have something that does not belong to you. It's time for it to return to its rightful owner, by which I mean me."

"You can't mean you want to use the Tri-force," Zelda uttered in shock, steadying her hand. "Naruto. If you use it as you are right now, then Hyrule will…"

"I don't care what happen about some stupid country!" Naruto shouted as the whole building shook under the immersed dark aura he was releasing. The vibration stopped when he pointed his menacing sword straight ahead. "I will have it even if I have to take it from your corpse, Zelda. It will not be pleasant in that case."

Hearing the threat against their kind and benevolent ruler, the Knights roared in unison: "Defend the Princess!"

Naruto only smirked at their foolishness and vanished from their view. A surge of wind blasted through all of them before they could blink.

A second later, blood erupted from all the Knight's chests while their swords shattered into shards. They could not believe their opponent was able to slash them all in that split second as they collapsed on the ground, leaving the only person among them standing.

Zelda stumbled backward a few steps due to the force behind the blow he inflicted. The golden bow was dropped from her hand when her shoulder was slashed. She gripped the wound tightly as blood seeped through her fingers and soaking her royal gown, turning white and pink into deep shade of red. She immediately turned around to face the blond behind.

"Give me the Tri-force of Wisdom, Zelda," Naruto demanded as dark aura flickered like flames around him. "I will make your death quick and painless if you do."

"Please… Naruto. Whatever you want, you don't need to resort to the power of the Tri-force," Zelda implored as she tried to pick up her bow, but the dark sword crashed into the stone floor next to it.

In a blink of an eye, Naruto was standing right before the princess while one of his feet stepped down on the bow. He pulled the sword up and swung it horizontally across her neck, but luckily, she fell backward and evaded the intended beheading. Looking down and seeing her shocked expression, Naruto lifted his sword upward for a vertical slash while the Tri-force of Power and Courage glowed brightly.

Strangely, he missed again as the ground shattered from the power behind the strike. He followed on, and before Zelda realized it, her back was pressed against the wall.

"Princess, please get away!" One of the Knights shouted and grabbed Naruto's legs. The rest of them followed suit while Zelda shook her head in refusal. "Please… you must! We will hold him back for as long as we can!"

Even being dragged down by a heavy armored person, Naruto continued to move forward to the Princess, albeit slowly.

"Naruto… please don't do this…" Zelda beseeched desperately, but the blond only glared at her in contempt. She held up the musical instrument that they used to make beautiful music together with both hands as tear pooled around her eyes. "You're not this person."

"Shut up! The Naruto you knew is dead! I'm a much better version," Naruto roared angrily and tried to move forward again, but found he couldn't since the number of baggage wrapping around his body had increased exponentially.

Zelda began to play their lullaby, but a sword crashed into the wall by her side, stunning her.

"I don't want to hear that stupid song," Naruto said and then looked down at the Knights.

"Insects, get off me!" Naruto demanded as he kicked an offending Knight away. He then grabbed one in each hand and threw them at another before turning his attention toward his target again.

Ignoring their own injuries, the rest of the Knights roared and charged at him to his surprise. They managed to tackle him onto the ground even though he was kicking them away in annoyance. Using their combined weight and ferocity, they began piling on Naruto while begging the Princess to get away.

Seeing their desperate plight, she could not refuse. With the exit blocked by the oddest brawl anyone had ever seen, Zelda held her injured shoulder and staggered through the door of time before leaning against the stone wall of the adjoining corridor.

"Naruto… why must you do this?" Zelda mumbled, feeling the strength had left her hands. She pulled ahead while the small musical instrument clattering on the cold stone floor behind her.

Slow, measured footsteps echoed behind her as she looked back. The blond was approaching toward her while dragging his dark sword along the ground. The Knights were all knocked out in a pile behind him while a small jar was rolling from side to side with a small fairy shouting from within.

"It is inevitable," Naruto said, stopping at the small musical instrument on the floor. "Are you going to run again? There's nowhere to run to, Zelda. No one can stop me so give it up already."

"You're already this powerful… why do you want it?"

"Because I want all three of them as a set, isn't that a good enough reason?" Naruto questioned as Zelda was speechless. "Fine… as long as it not in my hand, it could be used against me. Is that an acceptable reason? If not, let me think of another."

Shaking her head in disbelief, Zelda staggered ahead into the sacred chamber and collapsed on the pedestal of the Master Sword. She looked up at the legendary blade while the blond picked up the Ocarina of Time off the ground with a free hand. For a second, there was sadness in his eyes. Gripping the musical instrument tightly in his hand, he continued down the hall and into the chamber while Zelda stood on the opposite side of the blade, using its hilt for support.

There was nowhere else left for her to go.

"Is that the legendary Master Sword that can banish all evil?" Naruto enquired, stopping just before the elevated ground. "It's too bad there's no one who can pull it out."

"Naruto… Please stop this," Zelda pleaded, knowing that he could have killed her by now if that was what he truly intended. "This isn't you. Remember all the time we've spent together. We can go on an adventure together like you have always said."

"You're still holding on that foolish dream of a child? I'm not interested in that anymore," Naruto snorted while juggling the ocarina in one hand. "All I want right now is the Tri-force, and with it, I can do whatever I want and no one can stop me. If you're not going to use it then give it to me. I can remake the whole world for the better under my rule."

"No… You don't mean that. I know you don't mean that," Zelda said, shaking her head in refusal. "You are lying… That's not what you want. Please tell me that truth."

"You want to know the truth? Fine," Naruto said as he showed her the Ocarina of time. Right before her eyes, he turned the instrument into crushed fragments. Letting the shards fell into the ground, he spoke up again. "Was this enough?"

"Noooo!" Zelda shouted in anguish. He had once said the family heirloom was the most precious thing that should be protected. For him to destroy it himself, she was devastated. Seeing the shards on the floor, she felt her knees weakened, but her hands would not leave the handle of the legendary sword.

"Naruto… how could you?" Zelda muttered as she pulled the Master Sword from the pedestal and pointed it at him while tears continuously sliding down her cheeks. "I won't let you do this."

"Wow," Kurama muttered in the mindscape. "This is more messed up than I thought. To think the sword chooses her as its wielder."

Naruto looked at the legendary blade with a smile while pointing his sword straight ahead. "Pulling it out and using it are two different things. Do you still remember?"

He didn't let her answer as he lurched forward, sliding his sword to the side. Zelda screamed in fright while falling backward off the elevated pedestal. Her back landed flatly on the ground while the hilt pressed against her stomach as her hand gripped the handle tightly. She looked up at his smiling face as his hands clenching the blade that was embedded deep into his chest.

"I guess you do remember what I had taught you," Naruto muttered softly, stabbing his sword into the ground.

"No… I… I didn't mean to," Zelda muttered remorsefully, looking up at him.

Naruto coughed out blood as the Master Sword glowed eerily. "I'm sorry it has to end like this."

With that statement, Naruto rolled to the side and landed on the ground with a thud while Zelda looked at her bloody hands in fright. She then stared at the blond to the side as he coughed heavily. She pulled herself up and pressed her hands around his wound, trying to stem the blood flow. "No… No! Why? Why did you do that?"

"Maybe it is better this way," Naruto said, looking up at her as droplets of water constantly splashed against his cheeks. He lifted up his hand and pressed it against her face. He used his thumb to clear away some of the liquids under her eyes while etching the beautiful face into his mind. "You're beautiful… You are as real as this feeling I feel."

"What are you saying? Naruto… " Zelda said before panicking as the wound around the sword began to petrify, turning him into stone slowly. "No, no, no, no. How do I stop this?"

"It's impossible to stop it," Naruto muttered as she was frantic. "The Master Sword was made to seal away the spirit of the Demon."

"No," Zelda denied, shaking her head. "You're not the Demon! You're a hero… you're my hero."

"… This story can't have two heroes," claimed Naruto, remembering the legend and three entwined spirits that locked in an endless cycle. "And I don't want to be the hero, because I want the love of the Goddess to myself. I'm selfish, I'm a true demon."

"No, you're not," Zelda called out, pulling on his attire as the grayness spread outward from the wound without slowly down. Most of his body had already been petrified. "I don't understand what you're saying. Why did you have to do this?"

"Zelda… There no time left so listen," Naruto called out, gripping her hand to calm her down. "Take the Tri-force of Power and Courage that will separate from me upon my death. Combine with your piece, requested upon them for a reset. This is the real reason why I wanted it, but I have to kill you to get the last piece. As much as I wanted to, I couldn't do it in the end so you have to do it. It's the only way."

"No, you can't die," Zelda refused, sobbing on his chest. Her tears were sliding down the stone channel that was once the crease in his attire. "Why… why does this has to happen? Please tell me. Please…"

"I can't… I wanted to spare you from the truth," Naruto mumbled lowly as the petrification reached his neck. "It's too much for anyone to take in. How could anyone accept that everything they knew was not real? If I tell you that the world you lived in was fake; a figment of someone's imagination, then would you believe me?"

"Yes… I would," Zelda responded tearily. "I would believe anything you say. If you say the world is not real then it's not."

"I…" Naruto muttered weakly. He swallowed his guilt and looked up at her. "I am… not supposed to be here… I have changed everything by being here. With the power of the Tri-force, the mistake can be corrected. It will reset the chain of events that I've caused by stepping into his shoe. Link was supposed to be your hero, your champion."

"Link…?" Zelda questioned before shaking her head repeatedly.

"The person you deserved," Naruto said. "He is the hero that should have been."

"No, I don't know who that is. I have never met him before, and I don't want to meet him now. I don't care about him. I only know of one person, who sacrificed himself to save me, who stood by my side, who helped me free my people. You're… the only person I wanted to be with. You are my hero, my champion, my…"

She didn't say the last part as her lips pressed against his. His eyes widened as the petrification crept up both side of his cheeks.

"My Naruto," she said finally.

"Zelda…" Naruto muttered as tears pooled around his eyes when he realized the foolishness of his actions. "I didn't realize it until now. I am really stupid. I'm so sorry. I'm so sorry… I thought it would be better if the world was returned to what it supposed to be. I should have asked what you wanted instead of doing thing on my own."

He paused as his mind replayed the two visions he had. The nightmare had come to pass with his own action, but what about the dream he had. In it, they rode across the beautiful landscape of Hyrule together, side by side, seeing all that their Kingdom had to offer.

"I see… it has not come to pass," Naruto mumbled lowly and coughed. "We will go on an adventure together, my Zelda. That is a promise."

With the last word, his body turned completely to stone as the blond-haired Princess sobbed. Dark mist seeped out of stone as it swirled around the fragments of the Ocarina. The pieces came together, reforming the mythical instrument whole again before drifting down the corridor and hovering before the glass jar at the corner of the room.

"Kurama? It's you isn't it? Let me out!" Navi shouted from within, but none of the word could be heard from outside. The hallowed eyes of the mist looked at her and seeped into the bottle. The jar was too small for the both of them as Navi was squished to one side. "Ekkk… please stop pushing me! Why did you come in here? Can't you just break me out?"

"Well, I wanted to see if it was comfortable in here or not," Kurama jested. "So how have you been? Did you miss me?"

"I'm…" Navi muttered. "No, I'm not telling you anything until you tell me where you went! You just vanished one day without saying anything! Do you know how worry I am!?"

Kurama stared at her. "That wasn't exactly me. I'm… never mind. It's not enough. As to where I was… well, it's a very long story, but if I tell you, I will have to –

"Kill me," Navi finished the sentence. "Yeah I know. Just tell me already."

"Actually, I was going to say take you with me from here for a while," Kurama deadpanned. "So do you want to go with me?"

"… Huh? To where?"

"To the place with only the two of us and make some little ones. I think it is possible right?" Kurama said as Navi froze up at the suggestion.

"What did you say!?"

"Huh? You don't want to? Did I miss read the situation?" Kurama asked and rolled the jar around the room toward the depressing Princess. "And don't worry about them. We will see them again one day… far into the future, but I should tell you something first."

Kurama told Navi the true nature of the world she lived in. She was saddened to learn the truth at first, but Kurama stated he was in the same situation as her. Just because it wasn't real to those that looked from outside did not mean it wasn't real to them. It was as real as the experience they shared and the tears they shredded. With that, Navi accepted his offer and they both disappeared from that day.

**XxXxX**

Zelda looked across the wide chasm, hearing the voices of two children traversing up the spiraling path and long abandoned stone staircases from the abyss below. She remembered that the shadowy orb was scouting ahead for safety, thus she returned back into the cave and out of view. The two children stopped at the dead end as they looked around for a possible path. The blond-haired boy threw a stone into the chasm and listened for any sound that it created.

"Is it bottomless?" The boy asked when no sound came back for almost a minute.

Zelda mouthed the word as she'd remembered. It was exactly the same response the blond-haired girl gave to the boy. "There must be an end somewhere."

Zelda smiled and head into the room, making sure that everything was in place. She began to play the song of time with her Ocarina as time sped forward. Her golden bow was no longer with her as she returned it back to where she had found it as a child. She stopped and looked at the hole in the wall that he had made in the wall in reminiscence. The Tri-force of Wisdom glowed brightly in the palm of her hand as it showed her the way out through the dark tunnel, littered with carcasses. The other two Tri-forces were not with her as they vanished once she made her wish, which was releasing the Sages from their prison. Her father, the King, was also freed from the white crystal and return to governing the people. The ordeal he'd suffered had made him a wiser ruler.

"Apologies, Princess," a Knight said once she'd returned to the castle. "Something happened to his catacomb. Someone broke into it, but nothing is missing."

"What do you mean someone broke into it?" Zelda asked with shocked. The Knight showed her to the catacomb, where the person she loved sleep until one day he would return. Kneeling by his side, she caressed his facial structure, feeling the overwhelming sadness in her heart. He was so close to her, yet so far.

"Leave me. I want to be alone," Zelda requested. The Knights bowed and left the chamber. "You've promise that we will be going on an adventure together. I trust you with all my heart, but I can't bear another day alone. Please wake up and whisk me away from here."

She began to play the Ocarina of Time as the sound echoed the emptied catacomb. A drop of tear slide down from the corner of her eyes as the Tri-force of Wisdom glowed brightly, radiating the room in its luminescence. The Tri-force of Power did not glow from his stone hand as it was supposed to when she played the song. This time was different as the room shifted. Zelda stopped playing when it did and noticed the chamber had aged greatly.

"Why did the ocarina takes me here?" Zelda asked, looking at it. The instrument seemed to have a mind of its own when she found it undamaged. She made her way out of the catacomb and returned to the surface. The surrounding area had changed greatly as if centuries had passed. Zelda looked at the Tri-force of Wisdom as it glowed brightly, calling out to the other two.

A young rancher noticed the strange symbol on the back of his hand glowed brightly. He looked at it and pondered why it was glowing since it never had done that before. He dismissed it as another strange thing had happened around Hyrule ever since the last royal princess vanished centuries earlier. The royal bloodline was effectively severed then, but legend passed down stated she would return when her Kingdom needed her.

**_To be continued in Dream of Zelda!  
(Whenever I feel like it)_**

* * *

Some plotline isn't explained because this story has many parts. You can read the part individually or in chronological order. I suggest reading them in chronological order as they do linked to each other in a logical and meaningful way. These are all the parts:

**The Hero of Time:** This story, the beginning of the entire span that spans hundreds of years. **Trouble in Termina** is a side story of this one with some odd and hilarious scenario. Zelda is the Hero(ine) of Time, as such there is only one Zelda in the entire series. Her appearance is that of Hyrule Warrior.

**Dream of Zelda:** Using the setting of A Link Awakening, but it will not follow the cannon story line all that closely because well, I don't like rehashing stuff. It's pretty boring and unoriginal. This will explained what happened to Naruto after his apparent death.

**Under the Twilight:** Directly sequel to Hero of Time, based on the Twilight Princess. It deals with the clashes between light force (in Zelda) and the polar opposite, dark force (in Naruto). Why dark force exists is explained in Dream of Zelda. Link will appear in this one as the hero since Naruto is the demon and Zelda is the goddess.

**Light and Darkness: **Loosely based on A Link between Worlds. This follows directly after the epilogue of Under the Twilight. Their long awaited royal wedding is interrupted when the two worlds (Lorule and Hyrule) collided due to the cataclysmic event of Under the Twilight. Just like a good natured demon (or hero), Naruto ran off to save the world since marriage isn't that important anyway. In actually fact, he got cold feet and he really doesn't want to rule anything anymore.

**Season of Ages: **Unable to choose between who he really wanted to be with since they pretty much the same person, he decided to go cool off somewhere. Being Naruto, he's pretty much got screw by destiny so he stumbled onto another conflict that could end the world. Loosely following the events of Oracles of Seasons and Oracles of Ages, so that makes four heroines in total.

**The Four Swords: **A magical sword that can split the wielder into four separate people with their own thoughts, dreams and goals? Well, that's kind of awesome and a great solution to his dilemma until he released a sealed evil while his own damn self couldn't agree on anything. Anyway, four heroines, one Naruto doesn't work so thank god for everything work out in the end. This is the conclusion to the entire saga.


End file.
